27 A New Introduction to Old Norse Part I Grammar

A NEW INTRODUCTION TO OLD NORSE

PART I: GRAMMAR

A NEW

INTRODUCTION TO

OLD NORSE

PART I

GRAMMAR

THIRD EDITION

MICHAEL BARNES

VIKING SOCIETY FOR NORTHERN RESEARCH

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

2008

ISBN: 978-0-903521-74-1

First published 1999

Reprinted with corrections and additions 2001

Second edition 2004

Third edition 2008

Printed by Short Run Press Limited, Exeter

Preface

This

Grammar is intended for university students with no previous

knowledge of Old Norse. It covers considerably more than the essen-
tials, however, and is suitable for study up to first degree level. Full
account is taken of the fact that grammatical concepts may be unfa-
miliar to many using the work, and all but the most basic are explained.
Comparison is made with English where helpful, and a glossary of
grammatical terms included at the end. Although it is possible to study
the

Grammar on one’s own, the guidance of a tutor is strongly recom-

mended.

The bulk of the

Grammar was available in draft by the time of the

1998–99 session, and was tried out by several teachers at British uni-
versities. Content and presentation have benefited greatly from the
comments and suggestions of both teachers and students. I would like
in particular to thank Alison Finlay, Judith Jesch and Svanhildur
Óskarsdóttir, who offered many valuable insights, Peter Foote, who
read the whole work and improved it in countless ways, and finally
Anthony Faulkes, who not only commented on numerous points of
detail but designed the layout and saw the production of the book
through from start to finish. Needless to say, such faults as remain are
my responsibility.

Michael P. Barnes

University College London

July 1999

Preface to second edition

The necessity for a further reprint has made it possible to introduce a
number of corrections and changes, and to add a new section on points
of syntax (3.9.9).

Users will also be pleased to know that there is now a CD that can

be obtained from the Viking Society containing extracts I, II, IV, VIIB,
VIII (b) and (e), IX and X from

NION II read with Modern Icelandic

pronunciation by Icelanders:

Selected Readings from A New Intro-

duction to Old Norse, published by The Chaucer Studio, 2003.

April 2004

Preface to third edition

The book has been corrected and revised throughout, and a postscript
added (pp. 262–3).

May 2007

Contents

Abbreviations and Symbols ........................................................... xii

Introduction

1.1 The aim of the

Grammar .................................................. 1

1.2 What is Old Norse? ........................................................... 1
1.3 Old Norse and modern English ......................................... 2
1.4 Pronunciation .................................................................... 3
1.5 Orthography ...................................................................... 4
1.6 General advice to the student ............................................ 5

Pronunciation and Orthography

2.1 Old Norse .......................................................................... 8

2.1.1

Pure vowels .......................................................... 8

2.1.1

Exercise ................................................................ 9

2.1.2

Diphthongs ........................................................... 9

2.1.2

Exercise .............................................................. 10

2.1.3

Consonants ......................................................... 10

2.1.3

Exercise .............................................................. 12

2.1.4

Syllables ............................................................. 13

2.1.4

Exercise .............................................................. 13

2.2 Modern Icelandic ............................................................ 14

2.2.1

Vowels ................................................................ 14

2.2.1

Exercise .............................................................. 16

2.2.2

Consonants ......................................................... 16

2.2.2

Exercise .............................................................. 20

2.2.3

Syllables ............................................................. 20

2.2.4

The epenthetic vowel ......................................... 20

2.2.3/2.2.4

Exercise ......................................................... 21

Morphology and Syntax

3.1 Noun inflexions and their function ................................. 22

3.1.1

Number ............................................................... 22

3.1.2

Case .................................................................... 22

3.1.3

Gender ................................................................ 27

3.1.1/3.1.2/3.1.3

Exercise ................................................ 28

3.1.4

Basic noun inflexions ......................................... 28

3.1.4

Exercise .............................................................. 31

3.1.5

Examples of noun usage ..................................... 31

3.1.5

Exercise .............................................................. 37

3.1.6

Difficulties in recognising noun inflexions

and ways of overcoming them ..................... 37

3.1.6

Exercise .............................................................. 39

3.1.7

Important variations in noun inflexion ............... 39

3.1.7.1 Labial mutation ............................................ 39
3.1.7.1

Exercise ....................................................... 41

3.1.7.2 Front mutation ............................................. 41
3.1.7.2

Exercise ....................................................... 44

3.1.7.3 Breaking ...................................................... 44
3.1.7.4 Deviations from the basic endings .............. 45
3.1.7.5 Minor irregularities ...................................... 45
3.1.7.3/3.1.7.4/3.1.7.5

Exercise ................................. 46

3.1.8

Examples of noun inflexion ............................... 47

3.1.8

Exercise .............................................................. 53

3.1.9

The suffixed definite article ............................... 56

3.1.9

Exercise .............................................................. 58

3.2 Pronoun inflexions and their function ............................. 60

3.2.1

Personal pronouns: form .................................... 61

3.2.2

Demonstrative pronouns: form .......................... 63

3.2.3

Indefinite pronouns: form .................................. 65

3.2.4

Negative pronouns: form .................................... 66

3.2.5

Interrogative and distributive pronouns: form ... 67

3.2.1/3.2.2/3.2.3/3.2.4/3.2.5

Exercise .............................. 68

3.2.6

Examples of pronoun usage ............................... 68

3.2.6

Exercise .............................................................. 76

3.3 Adjective inflexions and their function ........................... 77

3.3.1

Number, case and gender ................................... 77

3.3.2

Definiteness ........................................................ 78

3.3.3

Degree (comparison) .......................................... 79

3.3.1/3.3.2/3.3.3

Exercise ................................................ 79

3.3.4

Basic adjective inflexions .................................. 80

3.3.4

Exercise .............................................................. 84

3.3.5

The free-standing definite article ....................... 84

3.3.5

Exercise .............................................................. 86

3.3.6

Examples of adjective usage .............................. 87

3.3.6

Exercise .............................................................. 95

3.3.7

Difficulties in recognising adjective inflexions

and ways of overcoming them ..................... 96

3.3.7

Exercise .............................................................. 97

3.3.8

Important variations in adjective inflexion ........ 98

3.3.8.1 Labial mutation ............................................ 98
3.3.8.1

Exercise ....................................................... 99

3.3.8.2 Front mutation ............................................. 99
3.3.8.3 Suppletive forms ........................................ 100
3.3.8.4 Deviations from the basic endings ............ 101
3.3.8.5 Minor irregularities .................................... 102
3.3.8.2/3.3.8.3/3.3.8.4/3.3.8.5

Exercise ................... 103

3.3.9

Examples of adjective inflexion ....................... 104

3.3.9

Exercise ............................................................ 111

3.4 Numerals ....................................................................... 115

3.4.1

The numerals and their inflexions .................... 115

3.4.1

Exercise ............................................................ 119

3.4.2

Examples of numeral usage ............................. 120

3.4.2

Exercise ............................................................ 123

3.5 Adverbs ......................................................................... 124

3.5.1

Adverb formation ............................................. 124

3.5.2

Inflexion for degree .......................................... 125

3.5.3

Examples of adverb usage ................................ 127

3.5.1/3.5.2/3.5.3

Exercise .............................................. 129

3.5.4

Adverbs and adverbials .................................... 130

3.6 Verb inflexions and their function ................................. 131

3.6.1

Person and number ........................................... 131

3.6.2

Tense ................................................................ 132

3.6.3

Mood ................................................................ 134

3.6.4

Voice ................................................................. 135

3.6.1/3.6.2/3.6.3/3.6.4

Exercise ..................................... 136

3.6.5

Basic verb inflexions ........................................ 137

3.6.5.1 Endings ...................................................... 137
3.6.5.1

Exercise ..................................................... 139

3.6.5.2 Vowel alternations ..................................... 140
3.6.5.2

Exercise ..................................................... 143

3.6.5.3 The -

sk form .............................................. 144

3.6.5.3

Exercise ..................................................... 146

3.6.6

Finite and non-finite forms; principal parts ..... 146

3.6.6

Exercise ............................................................ 152

3.6.7

Preterite presents and other irregular verbs ...... 152

3.6.7

Exercise ............................................................ 155

3.6.8

Examples of verb usage ................................... 155

3.6.8

Exercise ............................................................ 164

3.6.9

Important variations in verb inflexion .............. 164

3.6.9.1 Phonological variation ............................... 165
3.6.9.2 Morphological variation ............................ 168
3.6.9.3 Idiosyncratic variation ............................... 169
3.6.9.1/3.6.9.2/3.6.9.3

Exercise ............................... 171

3.6.10 Examples of verb inflexion .............................. 171
3.6.10

Exercise ............................................................ 177

3.7 Prepositions ................................................................... 181

3.7.1

Prepositions triggering the accusative .............. 182

3.7.2

Prepositions triggering the genitive ................. 184

3.7.3

Prepositions triggering the dative ..................... 185

3.7.4

Prepositions triggering the accusative

and dative ................................................... 189

3.7.5

Prepositions triggering the accusative and

genitive ...................................................... 196

3.7.6

Preposition triggering the accusative,

genitive and dative ..................................... 197

3.7.7

Residual remarks .............................................. 197

3.7

Exercise ......................................................................... 199

3.8 Conjunctions ................................................................. 200

3.8.1

Coordinating conjunctions ............................... 202

3.8.2

Subordinating conjunctions .............................. 204

3.8.2.1 The particle

er ............................................ 204

3.8.2.2 The particle

at ............................................ 212

3.8.2.3 Interrogative pronouns and adverbs .......... 215
3.8.2.4 Other adverbial sentence introducers ....... 218

3.8

Exercise ......................................................................... 221

3.9 Residual points of syntax .............................................. 223

3.9.1

Sentence word-order ........................................ 223

3.9.1

Exercise ............................................................ 228

3.9.2

Word-order in noun phrases ............................. 228

3.9.2

Exercise ............................................................ 230

3.9.3

Impersonal constructions ................................. 230

3.9.3

Exercise ............................................................ 236

3.9.4

Accusative and infinitive .................................. 236

3.9.4

Exercise ............................................................ 240

3.9.5

Omissions ......................................................... 240

3.9.5.1 Objects ....................................................... 241
3.9.5.2

vera ............................................................ 241

3.9.5.3 Verbs of motion ......................................... 243

3.9.5

Exercise ............................................................ 243

3.9.6

Points of nominal syntax .................................. 244

3.9.6.1 Idiomatic uses of personal pronouns and

possessive adjectives .......................... 244

3.9.6.2 The genitive and dative of respect ............. 246

3.9.6

Exercise ............................................................ 248

3.9.7

Points of verbal syntax ..................................... 248

3.9.7.1 The perfect and past perfect ...................... 248
3.9.7.2 The passive ................................................ 251
3.9.7.3 The ‘dative absolute’ ................................. 253
3.9.7.4 Present participles expressing potentiality

or obligation ........................................ 254

3.9.7

Exercise ............................................................ 255

3.9.8

Points of syntax affecting more than one

type of phrase ...................................... 256

3.9.8.1 Adjectival and adverbial complements ..... 256
3.9.8.2 Agreement between subject, verb and

subject complement ........................... 257

3.9.8.3 -

sk verb forms and ‘preposition adverbs’ .... 259

3.9.8

Exercise ............................................................ 260

3.9.9

Adverbial

ok ..................................................... 261

A postscript on ‘impersonal constructions’ ................................. 262

References to linguistic terms explained in the

Grammar .......... 264

Select glossary of linguistic terms not explained in the

Grammar ... 266

Bibliography ................................................................................ 270

Abbreviations and Symbols

acc.

accusative

act.

active

adj.

adjective

art.

article

aux.

auxiliary

comp.

comparative

COMP

complementiser

dat.

dative

def.

definite

feminine

gen.

genitive

imp.

imperative

indic.

indicative

inf.

infinitive

interrog.

interrogative

masculine

neuter

NION I–III

A New Introduction to Old Norse I: Grammar;
II:

Reader; III: Glossary and Index of Names

nom.

nominative

noun phrase

Old Norse

pass.

passive

pl.

plural

pos.

positive

pp.

past participle

pres.

present

refl.

reflexive

REFL

POSS

reflexive possessive

sg.

singular

subj.

subject; subjunctive

sup.

superlative

vb.

verb

reconstructed form; ungrammatical sentence

develops to

develops from

zero ending

1 Introduction

1.1 The aim of the Grammar

From the point of view of the student, many existing grammars of Old
Norse suffer from two major defects. First, they are largely constructed
on historical principles and thus contain detail about earlier stages of
the language and linguistic development, little of which is of direct
use to someone seeking to acquire a reading knowledge of Old Norse.
Second, they assume a level of linguistic sophistication which the
school system no longer cultivates, and so leave unexplained many
things which to the modern student are opaque.

The present

Grammar has been written with one aim only: to facili-

tate the learning of Old Norse for as wide a range of students as possible.
It therefore eschews historical digressions except where they throw
essential light on the workings of the language, and an attempt is made
to explain all but the most basic ideas, concepts and terms on their
first appearance or, failing that, in the Select Glossary (pp. 264–6).
The emphasis throughout is pedagogical, and the work thus represents
not so much a re-think of Old Norse grammar as a re-think of the ways in
which the basics of Old Norse may be best presented to the learner.

1.2 What is Old Norse?

The term ‘Old Norse’ has been used in various ways. For some it is a
broad concept covering the language of Denmark, Norway and Swe-
den, as well as Iceland and the other Scandinavian colonies, through-
out the Viking Age (

c. 750–1050) and the early and high Middle Ages

(

c. 1050–1350). At the other extreme it has been taken to mean only

the Old Norwegian of the early and high Middle Ages. In the present
context it is used principally to signify the language of Norway in the
period

c. 750–1350 (after which Norwegian changes considerably) and

of Iceland from the settlement (

c. 870) to the Reformation (c. 1550 —

a date that sets a cultural rather than a linguistic boundary). Known in
modern Icelandic as

norræna, in Norwegian as norrønt and in English

sometimes as Old West Norse, this type of speech is a western variety

A New Introduction to Old Norse

of Scandinavian. Scandinavian itself represents the northern branch
of the Germanic group of languages, whose western branch includes
Dutch, English and German.

As a result of Viking-Age expansion, Old Norse (in the sense just

defined), which had its origins in Norway, came to be spoken in such
widely different places as Faroe, Greenland and Ireland, but it was
only in Iceland and Norway — especially the former — that a signifi-
cant scribal culture developed, and it is upon manuscripts in Icelandic
and Norwegian written with the roman alphabet that our knowledge
of Old Norse is chiefly based. The earliest Icelandic and Norwegian
vernacular manuscripts that have survived are dated to

c. 1150, but the

bulk are from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and many Ice-
landic manuscripts are later still. For insights into Old Norse prior to
1150 we are dependent on runic inscriptions, bits and pieces preserved
in foreign language sources, and verse composed in the Viking Age
but recorded in medieval manuscripts.

Although Icelandic

c. 870–1550 and Norwegian c. 750–1350 are

here given the designation ‘Old Norse’, it would of course be wrong
to think of this language as entirely uniform, without variation in time
or space. The form of Scandinavian spoken in Norway around 750
differed in a number of important respects from that spoken around
1350, and by the latter date the Norwegian carried to Iceland by the
original settlers had begun to diverge from the mother tongue. Never-
theless, in the period

c. 1150–1350, when the great medieval literature

of Iceland and Norway was created, there existed an essential unity of
language in the western Scandinavian world, and it is on that unity
that the present

Grammar is based.

1.3 Old Norse and modern English

A major difference between Old Norse and modern English is that Old
Norse is a much more highly inflected language. Modern English still
has certain inflexions, by which is meant that words change their form
according to their function in a sentence (e.g. she

came, I saw her; sg.

cat, pl. cats; pres. run, past ran), but Old Norse has a far greater number.
In English the function of a word can often be deduced from its posi-
tion in relation to other words. We understand:

Introduction

Olav saw the old woman

to mean that Olav was the one who saw and the old woman the one
who was seen because

Olav precedes saw. Reverse the order and the

opposite applies. In a corresponding Old Norse sentence it would be
perfectly possible for the order to be reversed without a change in
meaning. Everything would depend on the inflexions. Thus:

Óláfr sá konu ﬂá ina gƒmlu

and

Konu ﬂá ina gƒmlu sá Óláfr

both mean ‘Óláfr saw the old woman’, because the forms

Óláfr and

konu ﬂá ina gƒmlu are unchanged. If we wish the sentence to mean
‘the old woman saw Óláfr’, we must alter the forms of the words so that
Óláfr becomes Óláf and konu ﬂá ina gƒmlu becomes kona sú in gamla.

It is obvious, therefore, that from the very start the student will

have to pay the closest attention to inflexions. Failure to do so will
result in the regular misunderstanding of Old Norse texts.

1.4 Pronunciation

Even in the case of dead languages, pronunciation is of some impor-
tance. If students cannot translate letters on the page into sounds, it
becomes well-nigh impossible for them to discuss the language they
are trying to learn. Furthermore, for those without an exclusively visual
memory, the association of image and sound is a valuable aid to
learning.

The pronunciation of Old Norse, like that of Latin, varies from coun-

try to country and sometimes from teacher to teacher. In the English-
speaking world a widespread practice is to adopt modern Icelandic
pronunciation. Although it is often claimed there is little difference
between modern Icelandic and Old Norse (and this is true enough as
regards the inflexional system and the basic vocabulary), the pronun-
ciation has changed a great deal since the first centuries of the settle-

A New Introduction to Old Norse

ment of Iceland. The adoption of modern pronunciation, while putting
the learner at some distance from the speech of those who wrote the
literature s/he is reading, nevertheless has the great advantage that
one can in effect listen to native speakers reproducing the language,
and thus learn to read aloud not only with fluency but with natural
intonation (patterns of voice pitch). For those whose chief interest is
Old Norse literature, modern Icelandic pronunciation has much to
recommend it. The pure language student, on the other hand, will find
the modern pronunciation frustrating: not only does it obscure the re-
lationship between several common sounds — and thus also between
large numbers of words or word-forms — it can render meaningless
rules involving syllable length (especially important in poetry). In the
present work, therefore, an outline is given of the pronunciation both
of Old Norse and of modern Icelandic. For the former we can rely to a
considerable extent on a twelfth-century work, the so-called

First

Grammatical Treatise (ed. Haugen 1972; Hreinn Benediktsson 1972),
which discusses in some detail the vowel and consonant sounds of the
Icelandic of that age. This, together with what we can deduce from
spelling, historical comparisons and modern pronunciation (Icelandic
and different varieties of Norwegian) means that guidance on the
essentials of Old Norse pronunciation during the golden years of literary
production can be offered with reasonable confidence.

1.5 Orthography

The scribes who wrote Old Norse did not conform to standardised
rules of spelling, any more than their counterparts in medieval Eng-
land and elsewhere. They wrote words more or less as they had been
trained to do at the scriptorium where they studied, although they might
also be influenced by forms in an exemplar from which they were
copying — and occasionally by their own pronunciation. The result is
that most Old Norse words appear in manuscripts in a variety of spell-
ings. In order to facilitate the making of grammars, dictionaries and
text books, therefore, and to help the learner, modern scholars have
adopted a normalised orthography for Old Norse. Some editions of
Old Norse writings, designed more for the philologist and linguist
than the literary reader, follow closely the spelling of the manuscript

Introduction

or manuscripts on which they are based, while in others the normalised
orthography may be adapted to bring it into greater harmony with that
of the manuscript source. This last practice means that normalisation
of Old Norse does not conform to an immutable standard. Even between
grammars, text books and dictionaries a degree of variation can be
found. The present

Grammar, for example, does not always acknow-

ledge the lengthening of

a, o, ƒ, u which took place in twelfth–thirteenth

century Icelandic before various consonant clusters beginning with
l (e.g. hjalpa > hjálpa, folk > fólk, hjalmr > hjálmr), although such
lengthening is generally indicated in Parts II and III (

Reader and

Glossary and Index of Names) of A New Introduction to Old Norse.
The conventions adopted here are in the main those found in E. V.
Gordon,

An Introduction to Old Norse (1957), which deviates little from

usage in many of the major editions and dictionaries. It should be noted,
however, that the two dictionaries most used by English-speaking
students, Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson,

An Icelandic-

English Dictionary (1957) and Geir Zoëga, A Concise Dictionary of
Old Icelandic (1910), make a few concessions to modern Icelandic
orthography (for which see, for example, Stefán Einarsson 1945, 1–31).

1.6 General advice to the student

The present

Grammar is intended primarily for university students,

and how it is used will be determined largely by individual tutors.
Nevertheless, it may be helpful to both students and staff, and to any-
one studying on their own, to offer outline guidance on the learning
process — not least because it is the author’s understanding of how
Old Norse can most effectively be learnt that has determined the struc-
ture of the

Grammar. With the emphasis on learning, the following

remarks are addressed direct to the student.

Decide at the outset which pronunciation to adopt, and stick to it.

Vacillating between rival pronunciations is confusing. Having decided,
read through the relevant part of section 2. Do not attempt to learn all
the rules of pronunciation at once. Read words, then phrases, then
whole sentences aloud, referring to the rules as and when necessary. If
you adopt modern Icelandic pronunciation, try to obtain recordings of
native speech.

A New Introduction to Old Norse

Your learning of morphology and syntax should initially be concen-

trated on the basics of nouns, pronouns, adjectives and verbs. These
are the most highly inflected word classes in Old Norse, and the most
central to the understanding of what you are reading.

Begin with the nouns. If you are uncertain about concepts like

‘number’, ‘case’ and ‘gender’, read sub-sections 3.1.1, 3.1.2 and 3.1.3
and do the accompanying exercise. Now learn the endings given in
3.1.4, noting the patterns. If you find this material too abstract, you
can compare the endings with those of the actual nouns listed in 3.1.8.
There is much greater variety of inflexion there, though, and that may
confuse rather than help you in the early stages. The noun paradigms
of 3.1.8 are meant primarily for reference as the learning proceeds.
When you are satisfied you have mastered everything in 3.1.4, do the
exercise. Next, study in detail the examples of noun usage given in
3.1.5, paying particular attention to the accompanying notes. This is
your introduction to the basics of Old Norse syntax, and you should
be prepared to spend a fair amount of time on it. When you have as-
similated all the information in 3.1.5, do the exercise. Then read through
3.1.6 and answer the questions at the end of it. Now try the exercise in
3.1.8, using a dictionary or the Glossary in

NION III and the noun

paradigms listed in this sub-section. Do not worry if you do not get all
the answers right straight away; this exercise is part of the learning
process as well as a test of knowledge. Sub-section 3.1.7 on the most
important variations in noun inflexion is not intended to be read at one
go and learnt, but is there to be consulted as and when problems arise.
You should, however, familiarise yourself with the fundamentals of
labial mutation as soon as possible.

Following the nouns, section 3.1.9 on the suffixed definite article

should be studied and the accompanying exercise completed.

Now go on to section 3.2. Learn the pronoun paradigms set out here,

noting the correspondences between them, and follow this by doing
the exercise covering 3.2.1–3.2.5. Next, study in detail the examples
of pronoun usage given in 3.2.6, paying due attention to the accompa-
nying notes. When you have assimilated all the information in 3.2.6,
do the exercise.

Section 3.3 on adjectives follows largely the pattern of 3.1 on nouns,

and the various items should be tackled in the same order and manner
(with 3.3.8 for consultation as necessary, and the paradigms in 3.3.9

Introduction

for reference). Note, however, that the free-standing definite article is
treated immediately after basic adjective inflexions; it should be stud-
ied before you go on to the examples of adjective usage, where this
form of the article occurs quite widely.

From adjectives proceed to section 3.6 on verbs. Work through sub-

sections 3.6.1 to 3.6.8 in the order they appear (3.6.1 to 3.6.4 may be
omitted if you are familiar with the concepts discussed). 3.6.9 is for
consultation as necessary. The paradigms in 3.6.10 are for reference;
the exercise at the end of this section is, however, an essential task.

Having assimilated the basic forms and functions of Old Norse nouns,

pronouns, adjectives and verbs, you should go on to tackle numerals (3.4)
and adverbs (3.5). When studying the numerals, note in particular simi-
larities with other inflexional types and the various idiomatic usages
detailed in both 3.4.1 and 3.4.2. Regarding the adverbs, pay particular
attention to adverb formation and inflexion for degree (3.5.1, 3.5.2).

As soon as practicable, you should begin to read an Old Norse text.

It is recommended you start with the extract from

Hrólfs saga kraka

in Part II of

A New Introduction to Old Norse, which has word-for-

word linguistic commentary on the first 40 lines. While reading this
(or another) text you will meet prepositions, conjunctions, and various
syntactic structures not dealt with in sections 3.1 to 3.6 of the

Grammar.

That is where sections 3.7, 3.8 and 3.9 come in. As you read, you
should consult them regularly for such information as you may re-
quire on the areas they cover. The exercises in these sections should
be attempted when you feel you have reached an appropriate level of
expertise.

It is of course possible to work through 3.7, 3.8 and 3.9 in the same

methodical way as the earlier parts of the

Grammar. This should not,

however, be done before starting on your first text. The importance of
reading a continuous piece of Old Norse at the earliest possible oppor-
tunity cannot be emphasised too strongly.

Finally, an important piece of practical information: where nothing

other is stated, Old Norse words are given in their dictionary form, i.e.
nominative singular for nouns, nominative for personal pronouns,
nominative masculine singular for other pronouns, strong nominative
masculine singular positive for adjectives, nominative masculine
singular or plural (as appropriate) for numerals, positive for adverbs,
and infinitive for verbs.

Pronunciation and orthography

2 Pronunciation and Orthography

2.1 Old Norse

Stress was in principle always on the first syllable. About intonation
nothing is known for sure, but it probably varied somewhat from area
to area.

Regarding the speech sounds themselves, we have a good idea of

the system as a whole, but are less certain about precise shades of
sound. The equivalents in other languages suggested below should be
understood as rough approximations.

2.1.1 Pure vowels

Old Norse had nine basic vowel sounds, which might be long or short,
nasal or oral, giving 36 potential distinctions. Nasality seems to have
been lost in most people’s speech by about 1200, and so is ignored
here. Length is normally indicated by an acute accent. The relation-
ship between spelling and sound is as follows.

as in English

father

ár ‘year’

the same sound, but short

dagr ‘day’

as in French é

té, but longer

él ‘storm’

as in French é

té

ben ‘wound’

as in English ea

lítr ‘looks [vb.]’

the same sound, but short

litr ‘colour’

as in French eau, but longer

sól ‘sun’

as in French eau

hof ‘temple’

as in French

bouche, but longer

hús ‘house’

as in French

bouche

sumar ‘summer’

‡

as in French

rue, but longer

k‡r ‘cow’

as in French

rue

yfir ‘over’

as in English

pat, but longer

sær ‘sea’

as in French

feu, but longer

œrr ‘mad’

as in French

feu

døkkr ‘dark’

as in English

hot

ƒl ‘ale’

Old Norse

Notes:

There is no short counterpart of

æ or long counterpart of ƒ. Both

sounds existed at one time, but in the kind of Old Norse on which the
normalised spelling is based short

æ had coalesced with e and  with

á. The use of œ to denote the long equivalent of ø is an arbitrary
convention, and in some works

Õ is found.

Most of these sixteen distinctive vowels occur exclusively in stressed

syllables. In unstressed syllables there is no distinction of length and
for the most part a basic three-way contrast is found between

a, i and

u. Some uncertainty exists about how these unstressed vowels were
pronounced, but the student will be safe enough using the following.

as stressed

leysa ‘[to] release’

as in English

city

máni ‘moon’

as in English

wood

eyru ‘ears’

2.1.1 Pure vowels — Exercise

1. Pronounce

á and a. What is the difference?

2. Which are the long vowels of Old Norse?
3. How many unstressed vowels did Old Norse have, and what did

they sound like?

4. Pronounce

o and ƒ.

5. Pronounce the following words (use English equivalents for the

consonants):

tál ‘deceit’, tal ‘talk’, sénn ‘seen [pp. nom. m. sg.]’

(3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3),

senn ‘at the same time’, lítr ‘looks [vb.]’, litr

‘colour’,

hól ‘praise’, hol ‘cavity’, dúra ‘[to] doze’, dura ‘door-

way [gen. pl.]’,

fl‡tr ‘floats [vb.]’, flytr ‘conveys’, ær ‘ewe’, bœr

‘farm’,

gøra ‘[to] make’, ƒl ‘beer’, gestir ‘guests [nom. pl.]’, gƒtur

‘paths [nom./acc. pl.]’.

2.1.2 Diphthongs

Diphthongs are vowel sounds that exhibit a change in quality within
a single syllable, contrast English

beer with a diphthong and be early

with the same vowel qualities spread over two syllables. Diphthongs

Pronunciation and orthography

may be falling (where the first element is stressed and the second un-
stressed, the latter usually a semi-vowel like English

w in low or y in

say), rising (where the unstressed (semi)-vowel precedes the vowel as
in English

with or yes) or balanced (where both elements are given

equal stress — as often in Faroese). Old Norse had three falling and a
great many rising diphthongs. However, because rising diphthongs
tend to be spelt with initial ‘j’ or ‘v’ in most forms of Scandinavian,
they are often regarded simply as sequences of

j (as in English yes) or

v + vowel. This is more a theoretical than a practical question. Here
only the three falling diphthongs are listed separately. They were all
long and were pronounced as follows:

as in English

now

lauss ‘loose’

as in English

bay

bein ‘bone’

e + y

hey ‘hay’

2.1.2 Diphthongs — Exercise

1. What is a diphthong?
2. What is the difference between a falling and a rising diphthong?
3. Which are the falling diphthongs of Old Norse?
4. Pronounce:

lauss, bein, hey.

2.1.3 Consonants

Just as the vowels, so Old Norse consonants too may be long or short.
Consonants with prolonged articulation are not a normal feature of
English, but are heard in compounds, e.g.

lake-country, pen-knife,

where the

k and n sounds are extended. Consonant length in Old Norse

is indicated by gemination (doubling). The relationship between spell-
ing and sound is as follows.

as in English b

bíta ‘[to] bite’

the same sound, but long

gabb ‘mockery’

as in English d

dómr ‘judgement’

the same sound, but long

oddr ‘point’

Old Norse

(1) as in English f

fé ‘money’

(2) as in English v

ery

haf ‘ocean’

as in English f

ar, but long

offr ‘offering’

(1) as in English g

oal

gefa ‘[to] give’

(2) as in Scots

loch

lágt ‘low [nom./acc. n. sg.]’

(3) as in Scots

loch, but voiced

eiga ‘[to] own’

(1) as in English g

oal, but long

egg ‘edge’

(2) as in Scots

loch

gløggt ‘clear [nom./acc. n. sg.]’

as in English h

ave

horn ‘horn’

as in English y

ear

jafn ‘even [adj.]’

as in English c

all

kƒttr ‘cat’

the same sound, but long

ekki ‘nothing’

as in English l

eaf

nál ‘needle’

the same sound, but long

hellir ‘cave’

as in English

home

frami ‘boldness’

mm the same sound, but long

frammi ‘in front’

(1) as in English

sin

hrinda ‘[to] push’

(2) as in English

sing

hringr ‘ring’

as in English

sin, but long

steinn ‘stone’

as in English

happy

œpa ‘[to] shout’

the same sound, but long

heppinn ‘lucky’

rolled, as in Scottish English

gøra ‘[to] do’

the same sound, but long

verri ‘worse’

as in English

this

reisa ‘[to] raise’

the same sound, but long

áss ‘beam’

as in English

boat

tƒnn ‘tooth’

the same sound, but long

nótt ‘night’

as in English w

vera ‘[to] be’

ﬂ

as in English th

ﬂing ‘assembly’

›

as in English th

jƒr› ‘earth’

two sounds, as in Scots

lochs

øx ‘axe’

two sounds, as in English

bits

góz ‘property’

Notes:

Pronunciation (1) occurs in initial position (i.e. at the begin-
ning of words), pronunciation (2) in medial and final position
(i.e. in the middle or at the end of words).

Pronunciation (1) occurs in initial position and immediately

Pronunciation and orthography

after

n, (2) immediately before s and t, (3) in all other positions

(‘voiced’ means using the vocal cords, as, for example, in Eng-
lish

bill versus pill; b is voiced, p unvoiced). (2) may alterna-

tively be sounded as in English

act.

Pronunciation (2) occurs immediately before

s and t, (1) in all

other positions. (2) may alternatively be sounded as in English

act.

Immediately before

s and t this may alternatively be sounded

as in Scots

loch.

Ditto.

Pronunciation (2) occurs immediately before

g or k; note that

in the combination

ng the g is pronounced, as in some forms of

northern English.

Immediately before

s and t this may alternatively be sounded

as in English f

ar.

Ditto.

Never sounded as in English

rise, always as in goose.

It will be seen that

h, ﬂ, › and the semi-vowels j and v are

always short.

2.1.3 Consonants — Exercise

1. How are long consonants denoted in Old Norse orthography?
2. Can all Old Norse consonants be both long and short? Give details.
3. Does Old Norse use any consonant letters not found in English?

Give details.

4. What sounds do ‘x’ and ‘z’ stand for in Old Norse?
5. Pronounce the following words:

bjƒrn ‘bear’, gabba ‘[to] mock’,

dagr ‘day’, padda ‘toad’, fullr ‘full’, hof ‘heathen temple’, offra
‘[to] make an offering’,

gle›i ‘joy’, sagt ‘said [pp.]’, sag›i ‘said

[3rd sg. past]’ (3.6.1, 3.6.2),

steggi ‘he-bird’, hafa ‘[to] have’, jƒr›

‘earth’,

sekr ‘guilty’, sekkr ‘sack’, fela ‘[to] hide’, fella ‘[to] fell’,

frami ‘boldness’, frammi ‘in front of’, men ‘necklace’, menn ‘men’,
mengi ‘multitude’, krapi ‘slush’, krappi ‘narrow [weak nom. m.
sg.]’ (3.3.2),

vera ‘[to] be’, verra ‘worse [n. sg.]’, áss ‘beam’, ás

‘beam [acc. sg.]’,

nót ‘net’, nótt ‘night’, ver›a ‘[to] become’, ﬂjófr

‘thief’,

rá› ‘advice’, vƒxtr ‘growth’, íslenzkr ‘Icelandic’.

Old Norse

2.1.4 Syllables

Because of the distribution of long and short vowels and consonants,
stressed syllables in Old Norse were of four types (disregarding any
consonants before the vowel):

1 — short:

short vowel + short consonant, e.g.

ba› ‘bath’.

2 — long:

short vowel + long consonant or consonant cluster

(i.e. a group of consonants), e.g.

rann ‘ran [1st/3rd

sg. past]’,

ƒnd ‘breath’, ‘spirit’.

3 — long:

long vowel + short consonant or no consonant, e.g.

hús ‘house’, fé ‘money’, gnúa ‘[to] rub’.

4 — overlong: long vowel + long consonant or consonant cluster,

e.g.

nótt ‘night’, blástr ‘blowing’.

In simplex (i.e. non-compound) words of more than one syllable, it

is customary to assume that the syllable division occurs immediately
before a vowel, e.g.

far-a ‘[to] go’, kall-a ‘[to] call’, gƒr›-um ‘walls

[dat.]’,

gam-all-a ‘old [gen. pl.]’, kall-a›-ar ‘called [pp. nom./acc. f.

pl.]’,

hundr-a›-a ‘hundreds [gen.]’. In compound words the division

comes at the point where the elements of the compound meet, e.g.
spá-ma›r ‘prophet’, vápn-lauss ‘weaponless’, vík-ing-a-hƒf›-ing-i
‘viking chieftain’ (with the division after -

a marking the meeting point

of the words

víkinga- ‘of vikings [gen. pl.]’ and hƒf›ingi ‘chieftain’.

In Old Norse metrics (in which one long syllable is the equivalent

of two short ones), length is sometimes measured differently. There,
for example, all monosyllables (such as

ba›) count as long. This is not

a matter that need concern the beginner, and the system of length de-
scribed in 2.1.1, 2.1.2, and 2.1.3 should be adhered to.

2.1.4 Syllables — Exercise

1. How many syllable lengths are there in Old Norse?
2. What constitutes a short stressed syllable?
3. What constitutes a long syllable?
4. In words of more than one syllable, where does the division come?
5. Exemplify each of the following with two Old Norse words: short

stressed syllable; long syllable; overlong syllable; unstressed syllable.

Pronunciation and orthography

2.2 Modern Icelandic

Radical changes affected the sound system of Icelandic during the late
medieval period. This means that normalised Old Norse orthography
is not the best of guides to modern Icelandic pronunciation. Even so,
the correspondence between the two is far more regular than between
current spoken and written English.

Stress in modern Icelandic falls without exception on the initial syl-

lable of a word; in compounds the first syllable of the second element
has a strong secondary stress, e.g.

spákona ‘prophetess’, with primary

stress on

spá-, secondary on -kon-. Intonation can only sensibly be

learnt from listening to native speakers, or recordings of connected
speech, and will not be described here. The equivalents of Icelandic
sounds in other languages suggested below should be understood as
rough approximations.

2.2.1 Vowels

The modern Icelandic vowel system is fundamentally different from
that of Old Norse. What was originally a difference of length (e.g.
between

á and a) has become one of quality, and vowel length is regu-

lated by the number of immediately succeeding consonants. In stressed
syllables, a vowel before a single consonant, or no consonant at all, is
long; a vowel before two or more consonants (including long conso-
nants, which count as two) is short. The relationship between spelling
and sound is as follows.

as in English

now

ár ‘year’

(1) as in French

mal

raf ‘amber’

(2) as in English

now

langr ‘long’

(3) as in English

hagi ‘pasture’

as in English ye

léttr ‘light [adj.]’

(1) as in English

let

verri ‘worse’

(2) as in English

bay

engi ‘no one’

as in English ea

hlí› ‘hillside’

(1) as in English

pit

hli› ‘side’

(2) as in English ea

hringr ‘ring’

as in American

roam

sól ‘sun’

Modern Icelandic

(1) as in English

law

hof ‘temple’

(2) as in English

boy

bogi ‘bow’

as in French

bouche

hús ‘house’

(1) a sound between the vowels
in French

pu and peu

sumar ‘summer’

(2) as in French

bouche

ungr ‘young’

(3) as in French

huile

hugi ‘mind’

‡

as in English ea

k‡r ‘cow’

as in English

pit

yfir ‘over’

as in English

sær ‘sea’

the same sound

œrr ‘mad’

as in French

peur

døkkr ‘dark’

(1) as in French

peur

ƒl ‘ale’

(2) as in French œil

lƒgin ‘the law’

as in French œil

lauss ‘loose’

as in English

bay

bein ‘bone’

the same sound

hey ‘hay’

Notes:

Pronunciation (2) occurs immediately before

ng, (3) imme-

diately before

gi, (1) in all other positions.

Pronunciation (2) occurs immediately before

ng, gi and gj,

(1) in all other positions.

Pronunciation (2) occurs immediately before

ng and gi, (1)

in all other positions.

Pronunciation (2) occurs immediately before

gi, (1) in all

other positions.

Pronunciation (2) occurs immediately before

ng, (3) imme-

diately before

gi, (1) in all other positions.

Pronunciation (2) occurs immediately before

ng and gi, (1)

in all other positions.

Although some of the above examples show long and others short

realisations of the different sounds, all vowels (except the diphthon-
gal variants of

o and u, which are always short) may have either length.

Corresponding to long

á in ár, for example, we have short á in árs

‘year [gen. sg.]’ (and also in

langr, although written ‘a’); and corre-

sponding to short

é in léttr we have long é in lét ‘let’, ‘caused’ (1st/3rd

sg. past of

láta).

Pronunciation and orthography

As in Old Norse, the vowels of unstressed syllables are essentially

three. All are short and are pronounced as follows:

as stressed

leysa ‘[to] release’

as stressed

máni ‘moon’

as stressed

eyru ‘ears’

2.2.1 Vowels — Exercise

1. Where does stress fall in modern Icelandic?
2. In what positions do long vowels occur?
3. In what positions do short vowels occur?
4. Work through all the examples in 2.2.1, pronouncing each several

times.

(Since modern Icelandic is a living language, access to native speech
is available. Try to obtain an Icelandic pronunciation tape, or record-
ings of the spoken language. If you know an Icelander, get him or her
to record the examples in 2.2 for you. Icelandic radio is now available
on the internet, and a CD can be obtained from the Viking Society
containing extracts I, II, IV, VIIB, VIII (b) and (e), IX and X from
NION II read with Modern Icelandic pronunciation by Icelanders.)

2.2.2 Consonants

Consonants in modern Icelandic may be short or long, as in Old Norse
(see 2.1.3). However, several of the long consonants of the medieval
language have developed other pronunciations, although still spelt as
geminates (double consonants). The relationship between spelling and
sound is as follows. (On unvoiced sounds see the last paragraph of
this sub-section.)

as in English b

uy, but unvoiced

bíta ‘[to] bite’

bb the same sound, but long

gabb ‘mockery’

as in English d

ay, but unvoiced

dómr ‘judgement’

dd the same sound, but long

oddr ‘point’

Modern Icelandic

(1) as in English f

fé ‘money’

(2) as in English v

ery

haf ‘ocean’

(3) as in English b

uy, but unvoiced hefna ‘[to] avenge’

ff as in English heifer, but long

offr ‘offering’

(1) as in English g

oal, but unvoiced gata ‘path’

(2) as in English g

eese, but unvoiced

and with English

y-sound following gefa ‘[to] give’

(3) as in Scots

loch

lágt ‘low [nom./acc. n. sg.]’

(4) as in Scots

loch, but voiced

eiga ‘[to] own’

(5) as in English y

ear

stigi ‘ladder’

gg (1) as g (1), but long

egg ‘edge’

(2) as

g (2), but long

kleggi ‘haycock’

(3) as

g (3)

gløggt ‘clear [nom./acc. n. sg.]’

(1) as in English h

ave

horn ‘horn’

(2) as in English h

uge

hjarta ‘heart’

(3) as in English c

all

hvass ‘sharp’

as in English y

ear

jafn ‘even [adj.]’

(1) as in English c

all

kƒttr ‘cat’

(2) as in English k

eep, but

with English

y-sound following

kyrr ‘quiet’

(3) as in Scots

loch

líkt ‘similar [nom./acc. n. sg.]’

kk (1) as k (1), but preaspirated

brekka ‘slope’

(2) as

k (2), but preaspirated

ekki ‘nothing’

(3) as

k (3)

skakkt ‘skew [nom./acc. n. sg.]’

as in English l

eaf

nál ‘needle’

ll (1) as in English leaf

illt ‘bad [nom./acc. n. sg.]’

(2) as in English

badly

hellir ‘cave’

m as in English home

frami ‘boldness’

mm the same sound, but long

frammi ‘in front’

(1) as in English

sin

hrinda ‘[to] push’

(2) as in English

sing

hringr ‘ring’

nn (1) as in English sin, but long

renna ‘[to] run’

(2) as in English

kidney

steinn ‘stone’

(1) as in English

happy

œpa ‘[to] shout’

(2) as in English f

eptir ‘after’

pp as p (1), but preaspirated

heppinn ‘lucky’

(1) rolled, as in Scottish English

gøra ‘[to] do’

(2) as

r (1), but followed by d

barn ‘child’

Pronunciation and orthography

rr as r (1), but long

verri ‘worse’

as in English

this

reisa ‘[to] raise’

ss the same sound, but long

áss ‘beam’

as in English t

tƒnn ‘tooth’

tt the same sound, but preaspirated

nótt ‘night’

as in English v

ery

vera ‘[to] be’

ﬂ

as in English th

ink

ﬂing ‘assembly’

›

as in English th

jƒr› ‘earth’

two sounds, as in Scots

lochs

øx ‘axe’

as in English

this

góz ‘property’

Notes:

Pronunciation (1) occurs in initial position (i.e. at the begin-
ning of words), pronunciation (2) in medial and final position
(i.e. in the middle or at the end of words); (3) occurs immedi-
ately before

l and n (except where a consonant follows, in which

case

fl may be pronounced as in English flat before a voiceless

and as in English

naval before a voiced consonant, and fn as m

(e.g.

fíflt ‘seduced [pp.]’, fífldi ‘seduced [3rd sg. past]’, hefndi

‘avenged [3rd sg. past]’).

Pronunciation (1) occurs initially before

á, a, ó, o, ú, u, ø, ƒ, au

and consonants, medially before

l and n (e.g. sigla ‘[to] sail’)

and also between consonants and

a or u (e.g. saurga ‘[to] dirty’),

and finally after consonants (e.g.

ﬂing); pronunciation (2) occurs

initially before

e, í, i, ‡, y, æ, œ, ei, ey and j, and medially between

consonants and

i or j (e.g. helgi ‘holiness’); (3) occurs before s

and

t (e.g. hugsa ‘[to] think’); (4) occurs between vowels and

a, u, r or ›, and finally after vowels; (5) occurs between vowels
and

i or j.

Pronunciation (1) occurs between vowels and

a, u, r or v, and

in final position; (2) occurs between vowels and

i or j; (3)

occurs before

Pronunciation (2) occurs before

é and j, (3) before v, (1) in all

other positions.

Pronunciation (2) occurs before

e, í, i, ‡, y, æ, œ, ei, ey and j, (3)

before

s and t, (1) in all other positions.

Pronunciation (2) occurs between a vowel and

i or j, (3) before

s and t, (1) in all other positions; preaspiration means that a

Modern Icelandic

puff of air similar to the one expelled after

k, p or t in (southern)

English

keg, put and take precedes the kk.

Pronunciation (1) occurs before consonants other than

n and r,

(2) between vowels and before

n and r.

Pronunciation (2) occurs before

g and k, (1) in all other posi-

tions.

Pronunciation (2) occurs following all vowels with an acute
accent (e.g.

á), as well as æ, œ and the diphthongs au, ei, ey, (1)

following other vowels.

Pronunciation (2) occurs before

k, s and t, (1) in all other posi-

tions.

Concerning preaspiration, see the note on

kk.

Pronunciation (2) occurs in the clusters

rl and rn where they

appear between vowels or in final position, (1) elsewhere.

Never sounded as in English

rise, always as in goose.

Concerning preaspiration, see the note on

kk.

The pronunciation of modern Icelandic consonants involves many

subtleties which it would be out of place to describe in a brief account
such as this. The following may, however, be noted. (1) The voice-
lessness of

b(b), d(d) and g(g) signifies that these consonants are pro-

nounced much like their English equivalents (fairly laxly and with no
following puff of air as with

p, t, k), but without the use of the vocal

cords. (2) There is a tendency to unvoice voiced consonants in voice-
less environment (in particular when they immediately precede

k, p, s,

t: this is the norm in southern Icelandic pronunciation). (3) The clus-
ters

hl, hn and hr denote voiceless l, n, r (there is nothing like this in

English: try pronouncing

l, n and r without using the vocal cords). (4)

Long consonants tend to be shortened when they occur immediately
before another consonant (e.g.

ﬂykkna ‘[to] thicken’, brenndi ‘burnt

[3rd sg. past]’). (5) Preaspiration (see above) occurs where

k, p or t

precede

l, m or n as well as before kk, pp and tt (e.g. vakna ‘[to] awake’,

ætla ‘[to] intend’). (6) In clusters of more than two consonants, one or
more may be altered or lost (e.g.

rigndi ‘rained [3rd sg. past]’ is pro-

nounced as though it were

ringdi (the g not being sounded), barns

‘child [gen. n. sg.]’ as though it were

bass).

Pronunciation and orthography

2.2.2 Consonants — Exercise

1. Of the written geminates

bb, gg, ll, mm, nn, tt, which always de-

note long consonants in modern Icelandic?

2. How many different sounds can

f denote, and what are they?

3. How many different sounds can

g denote, and what are they?

4. Work through all the examples in 2.2.2, pronouncing each several

times.

(See the note following the exercise at the end of 2.2.1.)

2.2.3 Syllables

The fact that vowel length is regulated by the length of following con-
sonants means that in modern Icelandic there are effectively only two
types of stressed syllable, both long:

(1)

short vowel + long consonant or consonant cluster, e.g.
blástr ‘blowing’, nótt ‘night’, rann ‘ran [1st/3rd sg. past]’,
ƒnd ‘spirit’.

(2)

long vowel + short consonant or no consonant, e.g.

ba›

‘bath’,

hús ‘house’, fé ‘money’, gnúa ‘[to] rub’.

An exception to this pattern of distribution are clusters formed of

p, s, or t + j, r or v, before which the vowel is always long. If both
consonants are reckoned part of the syllable, it is clearly overlong, but
conceivably only the first should be counted, so that in words like
vekja ‘[to] wake’, daprar ‘sad [nom./acc. f. pl.]’, ﬂysja ‘[to] rush’,
vƒkva ‘moisture’, etc., the syllable boundary would be placed imme-
diately after

k, p and s. Syllable boundaries are otherwise as outlined

in 2.1.4.

2.2.4 The epenthetic vowel

Also called the svarabhakti vowel, this intrusive

u-sound began to

develop towards the end of the Old Norse period. Because it did not

Modern Icelandic

originally form part of the words in which it is now found, and be-
cause of its relatively late arrival, the epenthetic vowel is not indi-
cated in normalised Old Norse orthography. It develops between a
consonant (other than

r) and r, especially an r in final position. Thus

ma›r ‘man [nom. m. sg.]’, dapr ‘sad [nom. m. sg.]’, eitr ‘poison

[nom./acc. n. sg.]’,

bindr ‘tie(s) [2nd/3rd sg. pres.]’, for example, are

pronounced

ma›ur, dapur, eitur, bindur (the first three with long

stressed vowels because only a single consonant immediately follows)
— and so written in modern Icelandic orthography.

2.2.3/2.2.4 Syllables/The epenthetic vowel — Exercise

1. What feature of length characterises stressed syllables in modern

Icelandic?

2. What is the epenthetic vowel?
3. How does the occurrence of the epenthetic vowel affect the use of

modern Icelandic pronunciation for Old Norse?

It should be stressed that section 2.2 is offered simply as an initial
guide to help those learners who wish to pronounce Old Norse as a
living language. For a detailed, if slightly old-fashioned, description
of the sounds of modern Icelandic, see Stefán Einarsson 1945, 1–31;
for a briefer but more recent analysis, see Höskuldur Thráinsson 1994,
142–52. As urged above, such accounts should preferably be studied
in conjunction with recordings of spoken Icelandic.

Morphology and syntax

3. Morphology and Syntax

Morphology deals with the form and structure of words, and syntax
with the ways in which words are combined to form sentences. In
section 3 we shall be concentrating on inflexional morphology (changes
in word-form that express grammatical categories and relationships,
sometimes called accidence) and the ways in which it interrelates with
syntax. In dealing with a language like Old Norse, where grammatical
categories such as number, gender, case, person, tense (see below
and 3.2, 3.6.1, 3.6.2) are expressed by variation in word-form, it is
unhelpful to divide the inflexions from the syntax, as has been com-
mon practice in earlier grammars. The student needs to appreciate from
the outset that form and function are interlinked: the form has no pur-
pose other than to express the function, and often the function cannot
be expressed without the form.

3.1 Noun inflexions and their function

Nouns in Old Norse are inflected for number and case.

3.1.1 Number

Number in nouns is restricted to a difference between singular and
plural, as in English

boy, foot compared with boys, feet. Thus ON hlí›

means ‘slope’,

hlí›ir ‘slopes’, ma›r ‘man’, menn ‘men’. (On the rela-

tionship between number in nouns and number in verbs, see 3.6.1.)

3.1.2 Case

Case is a much more complex matter than number. It is sometimes
defined as a grammatical category that expresses the syntactic rela-
tionship between words in a sentence. While true as far as it goes, this
definition is too abstract for our purposes. It gives no indication of
how to recognise case. It does not explain

what syntactic relations are,

Noun inflexions and their function

how they are, or may be, expressed, or the nature of the link between
the means of expression and the thing expressed.

In modern English a few words change form according to their func-

tion in a sentence. Thus we say (as a complete sentence):

I saw him

but

He saw me

not:

*Me saw he

*Him saw I

This change of form between

I and me and he and him according to

function provides a clear example of what is traditionally called case:
a particular form expresses a particular syntactic relation — in these
examples subject (

I, he; see pp. 31–2) or object (me, him; see pp. 32–3).

For the most part, however, modern English expresses syntactic
relationship by other means than changes in the form of words. We
may say both:

John saw the cat

in which

John is subject and the cat object, and:

The cat saw John

in which the roles are reversed, but it is the word-order that signals the
function (as it does additionally in

I saw him and he saw me) not the

particular forms of the words involved, which do not change. Another
common means of expressing syntactic relationship in English is by
the use of function words (words which have little or no meaning on
their own) such as

of, with, than. In:

Morphology and syntax

The king of England

for example,

of England modifies king, in much the same way as would

the addition of the adjective

English. In:

He broke it with a stone

with a stone is an adverbial (3.5.4) expressing instrumentality (i.e.
defining the ‘tool’ or ‘instrument’ used to cause the breakage). In:

My brother is taller than me

than me supplies the part of the comparative phrase that denotes the
entity with which the comparison is made.

Where English uses word-order or function words to indicate syn-

tactic relationship, Old Norse regularly uses changes of word-form
instead or as well. This means that not only pronouns, but nouns and
adjectives (and also verbs and adverbs, as to some extent in English),
are likely to change form according to their relationship to other parts
of the sentence. It is their form that — wholly or partly — specifies
their grammatical role, as with

I/me in English. English has traces of

such a system in the -

’s (singular) or -s’ (plural) that may be added to

nouns. Instead of saying (or writing)

the king of England as above, for

example, we may alternatively use

England’s king; instead of the

comfort of passengers, passengers’ comfort. However, the Old Norse
system is vastly more complex than anything in English. Its heavy
reliance on form to indicate a variety of functions means that a simple
two-way distinction like that between English

I and me or England

and

England’s offers a wholly inadequate parallel.

Old Norse nouns, adjectives and pronouns exhibit four distinctive

case-forms, known as nominative, accusative, genitive and dative.
This means that a noun (or adjective or pronoun) potentially has eight
different actual forms (four in the singular, four in the plural), but in
reality most have fewer because the same form occurs in more than
one case.

The number of functions expressed by these case-forms greatly ex-

ceeds four. This means that no case is uniquely associated with a par-
ticular function: each is used in a variety of ways. The accusative, for

Noun inflexions and their function

example, commonly marks the object of a verb (as English

him in I

saw him; see pp. 32–3), but among other functions it also expresses
duration of, or point in, time, as well as occurring after a number of
prepositions (see 3.7). The following sentences (each accompanied
by a literal and an idiomatic English translation) illustrate these three
possibilities (the words in the accusative form are in bold):

Hann orti vísu ﬂessa
‘He made verse this’
‘He made this verse’ (object)

Hann dval›isk ﬂar mestan hluta sumars
‘He stayed-

sk [see 3.6.5.3] there most part of-summer’

‘He stayed there for most of the summer’ (time)

ﬁeir gengu á skóg
‘They went into wood’
‘They went into the wood’ (after preposition

á)

‘Case-form’ in relation to the nominative, accusative, genitive and

dative has so far been used in an abstract sense. In reality, we are
dealing not with one nominative, accusative, genitive or dative form,
but with many (see the three examples just given). Thus to a question
like: ‘What is the nominative singular form of nouns in Old Norse?’
there is no answer, only a return question: ‘Which kind of noun do
you have in mind?’ Common nominative singular noun endings are -

i, -a, but there are others besides these, and a large group of nouns

indicates this ‘form’ by exhibiting no ending at all.

It is time now to return to the starting point of the discussion: the

definition of case. Three questions were thrown up by the definition
initially suggested. (1) What are syntactic relations? (2) How are or
may they be expressed? (3) What is the nature of the link between the
means of expression and the thing expressed? In answer to the first
question discussion and examples of common syntactic relations have
been offered. In answer to the second it has been shown that change in
word-form, word-order, and the use of function words are all impor-
tant ways of expressing syntactic relations. The third question on the
nature of the link between syntactic relations and the means by which

Morphology and syntax

they are expressed bears more directly on the understanding of case.
There are two main issues. First, what can be usefully recognised as
case, and what not? Second, in so far as case is identified primarily as
the expression of syntactic relations by

changes in word-form, where

is case to be found — in the syntactic relations or in the differing
word-forms?

Some have identified case in English sentences like

John saw the

cat or phrases like the king of England. This is either because they
were arbitrarily transferring the rules of another language (as often as
not Latin) to English, where the rules do not necessarily apply, or
because they related case primarily to the level of meaning. Neither
approach seems likely to be helpful in the learning of Old Norse. The
rules of Old Norse must be derived from Old Norse itself, not from
Latin or any other language, and seeing case in terms of meaning
ignores the fact that in Old Norse form is also a crucial factor. For
present purposes, therefore, case would seem a term best restricted to
the expression of syntactic relations by changes in word-form. There
are difficulties here, though, that have already been alluded to. Case
as thus defined refers both to form and function and denotes entities
— nominative, accusative, etc. — that have a variety of forms and a
variety of functions. It can therefore be hard to see what the essence of
a case is — leading to uncertainty about what one means by the term.
Is the Old Norse accusative, for example, the sum of the inflexions by
which certain syntactic relations are expressed or the sum of those
syntactic relations? There is no clear answer to this question. Never-
theless it seems that most writers conceive of case in a language like
Old Norse primarily as a morphological category: they prefer to think
of the different inflexions a case may exhibit as varying realisations of
a single underlying form than to think of its differing functions as
somehow derived from a single abstract meaning — and indeed the
latter idea does require considerably greater intellectual elasticity. We
will therefore adopt the concept of morphological case here. We will
consider, for example, the -

r, -i, -a etc. endings of nouns in the nomi-

native singular to be realisations of an underlying form NOM in its
singular incarnation. The morphological category thus established as
primary can then be seen as having a range of different functions.

The upshot of this discussion is that there are four cases in Old Norse:

nominative, accusative, genitive and dative. The cases are regarded as

Noun inflexions and their function

relating primarily to form, although there is no single nominative,
accusative, genitive or dative form as such. Each case expresses a range
of syntactic relations. The student’s task is therefore twofold: to
learn to recognise one case from another by mastering the essen-
tial inflexions, while simultaneously getting a grasp of the princi-
pal syntactic relations expressed by each case.

3.1.3 Gender

As well as number and case, the role of gender in the inflexion of Old
Norse nouns needs to be considered. Gender is an inherent category
of the noun, that is, it is only when a noun is modified or referred to
that its gender becomes manifest. There is, for example, nothing about
the word

dalr ‘valley’ to show that it is masculine rather than feminine

or neuter, but if it is modified by an adjective, that adjective will appear
in the appropriate masculine form, e.g.

djúpr dalr ‘deep valley’ where

djúp- is the root of the word and -r the nom. m. sg. ending (see 3.3.4).
Similarly, if we wish to refer to a valley as ‘it’, it must be by the mas-
culine form of the personal pronoun:

hann ‘he’.

While there is thus nothing gender-specific about any individual

Old Norse noun in its dictionary form, it is nevertheless true that gender
plays a part in the inflexional system of nouns, if only a minor one.
Most masculines, for example, end in -

r or -i in the nominative sin-

gular, and many feminines in -

a; neuters are characterised in both

singular and plural by a lack of distinction between nominative and
accusative, and many have no specific nom./acc. pl. inflexion either
(so that

kvæ›i ‘poem’, for example, may be nom. or acc. sg. or pl.).

However, given that none of the above features (except the nom./acc.
sg./pl. identity of neuters) is totally restricted to one particular gender,
they cannot be classed as gender markers in the same way as the forms
of modifying adjectives or of anaphoric pronouns (pronouns that refer
back to some previously expressed meaning, as, for example,

it refer-

ring to

valley above). What the features do offer is guidance about the

likely gender of a noun — a useful insight since it can help (a) to see
which words in a sentence belong together and (b) to predict what
forms a given noun will have other than the particular one encountered.

Morphology and syntax

3.1.1/3.1.2/3.1.3 Number/Case/Gender — Exercise

1. What does the grammatical category number refer to? Give exam-

ples from Old Norse.

2. What does the grammatical category case refer to? Give examples

from Old Norse.

3. What does the grammatical category gender refer to? Give exam-

ples from Old Norse.

4. To what extent does case occur in English?
5. In what ways other than change in word-form can syntactic rela-

tions be expressed?

6. Which cases are found in Old Norse, and how do we recognise

them?

3.1.4 Basic noun inflexions

In learning the inflexions of Old Norse it is important not to lose sight
of the wood for the trees. This is not least true of the noun inflexions.
If account were taken of every minor variation, it would be possible to
list pages of paradigms (patterns of inflexion), as some grammars do,
but that is likely to put the learner off and thus be counter-productive.
Initially it is the essential patterns that need to be grasped. The small
details can be added bit by bit. (Students keen to see the complete
range of inflexions are recommended to consult one of the more tradi-
tional Old Norse grammars. In English there is Gordon 1957, in Nor-
wegian Iversen 1973 and in German Noreen 1923. Less traditional
grammars in Norwegian are Spurkland 1989 and Haugen 2001, the
latter particularly systematic and lucid. An exhaustive account of
modern Icelandic inflexions is given in Thomson 1987.)

Fundamentally there are two types of noun inflexion in Old Norse,

traditionally known as strong and weak. The student should not look
for any deep significance in these names. They have none. The two
types could as well be called ‘A’ and ‘B’ or ‘1’ and ‘2’. Strong nouns
have a wider range of endings than the weak; weak nouns tend mostly
to end in -

a, -i or -u.

The strong and weak inflexional types can be sub-divided accord-

ing to gender (cf. above). With three genders, masculine (m.), femi-

Noun inflexions and their function

nine (f.) and neuter (n.), this gives us six basic sets of endings. They
are as follows (~ = zero, i.e. there is no ending, the form consisting of
the root of the noun alone — e.g.

dal ‘valley’, acc. m. sg.; ( ) = the

ending does not always occur; actual paradigms are given in 3.1.8).

Strong masculine

Sg.

nom.

-r

Pl.

nom.

-ar/-ir

acc.

-a/-i/-u

gen.

-s/-ar

gen.

-a

dat.

-(i)

dat.

-um

Weak masculine

Sg.

nom.

-i

Pl.

nom.

-ar

acc.

-a

acc.

-a

gen.

-a

gen.

-a

dat.

-a

dat.

-um

Strong feminine

Sg.

nom.

Pl.

nom.

-ar/-ir

acc.

-ar/-ir

gen.

-ar

gen.

-a

dat.

-um

Weak feminine

Sg.

nom.

-a

Pl.

nom.

-ur

acc.

-u

acc.

-ur

gen.

-u

gen.

-na

dat.

-u

dat.

-um

Morphology and syntax

Strong neuter

Sg.

nom.

Pl.

nom.

acc.

gen.

-s

gen.

-a

dat.

-i

dat.

-um

Weak neuter

Sg.

nom.

-a

Pl.

nom.

-u

acc.

-a

acc.

-u

gen.

-a

gen.

-na

dat.

-a

dat.

-um

Certain regularities and patterns will be observed in these endings.

(1) The dat. pl. always ends in -

um.

(2) The gen. pl. always ends in -

a, in the case of the weak feminines

and neuters preceded by

-n-.

(3) There are no distinct case-forms in the weak sg. except in the

nom. masculine and feminine.

(4) The strong nom. sg. ends in -

r or has no ending.

(5) The strong acc. sg. is characterised by the absence of an inflex-

ional ending.

(6) The strong gen. sg. ends in -

s or -ar.

(7) The strong dat. sg. ends in -

i or has no ending.

(8) The masculine and feminine nom. pl. end in

-a, -i or -u + r.

(9) The masculine acc. pl. ends in

-a, -i or -u, and the feminine

acc. pl. in

-a, -i or -u + r.

These are the essentials of noun inflexion in Old Norse. It is by

no means the whole story, but all other noun inflexions can be
seen as variations on this basic pattern. It is vitally important that
the student masters the above sets of endings before proceeding to
the finer detail.

Noun inflexions and their function

3.1.4 Basic noun inflexions — Exercise

1. Where is a difference between the nom. and acc. pl. to be found?
2. How many endings does the gen. pl. exhibit?
3. What characterises the singular inflexions of strong feminines?
4. What characterises the singular inflexions of weak masculines and

feminines?

5. In what way do the plural inflexions of strong neuter nouns differ

from those of strong masculines and feminines?

6. What are the different nom. sg. endings?
7. What are the different gen. sg. endings?
8. What are the different dat. sg. endings?

3.1.5 Examples of noun usage

To assist in the task of learning, examples will now be given of a
selection of the different noun case-forms in function. The relevant
inflexions are in bold (or the whole word where there is no difference
from the root form). Two translations are normally provided, the first
literal for a better understanding of the structure of the Old Norse
sentence, the second idiomatic. Notes explain the relationship between
form and function. Compare the case-forms used with those set out on
pp. 29–30. Observe, too, the differences between Old Norse and Eng-
lish phraseology and sentence formation.

(1)

Ger›isk Eiríkr ﬂá konungsma›r
‘Made-

sk [see 3.6.5.3] Eiríkr then king’s-man’

‘Eiríkr then became a king’s man’

Eiríkr (strong nom. m. sg.) is the subject, konungsma›r (strong nom. m. sg.)
the subject complement; for both subject and subject complement the nomi-
native is almost always the case used. Subject is an extremely hard concept to
get to grips with; it is sometimes loosely defined as ‘what the sentence is
about’; where the verb denotes an action, the subject is often the agent, or
‘doer’ of the action. However, such definitions relate chiefly to meaning. Syn-
tactically subjects may be defined both in English and Old Norse as the first
noun phrase of a sentence in unmarked word-order (where ‘noun phrase’ means
a noun or pronoun with or without accompanying modifiers — e.g.

John, she,

Morphology and syntax

the white-bearded old man — and ‘unmarked word-order’ word-order not
deliberately altered for emphasis). The subject complement is

Y in construc-

tions like:

X is Y, X becomes Y or X is called Y.

(2)

Var bardagi milli ﬂeira
‘Was battle between them’
‘There was a battle between them’

Bardagi (weak nom. m. sg.) is the subject, the first noun phrase in the sen-
tence.

(3)

Konur tvær vƒk›u yfir lei›inu
‘Women two watched over tomb-the’
‘Two women kept a vigil over the tomb’

Konur (weak nom. f. pl.), modified by tvær, is the subject; it is the first noun
phrase in the sentence and the women perform the action denoted by the verb
vƒk›u. Lei›inu (strong dat. n. sg. + def. art. — see 3.1.9) does not function
here as a noun phrase, but is part of the preposition phrase

yfir lei›inu, in

which the noun is governed (i.e. has its case determined) by the preposition
yfir (see 3.7, 3.7.4).

(4)

Vápn bíta ekki á hann
‘Weapons bite not on him’
‘Weapons make no impression on him’

Vápn (strong nom. n. pl.) is the subject, the first noun phrase in the sentence;
whether the weapons are seen as the agent, or ‘doer’, of the action, will depend
partly on the wider context, partly on the analysis; normally a human agent
wields weapons and the weapons are thus the instrument, but they can also be
portrayed as agent.

(5)

Hann tekr eigi mat né drykk
‘He takes not food nor drink’
‘He takes neither food nor drink’

Mat and drykk (both strong acc. m. sg.) are objects of the verb tekr. Like
subject, object is a hard concept to define; traditionally a distinction is made
between ‘direct object’, the goal of an action, and ‘indirect object’ the benefi-
ciary, as in:

I sent Peter (indirect object) a letter (direct object), but such defi-

nitions have to do with meaning rather than syntax. Syntactically objects may

Noun inflexions and their function

be defined both in English and Old Norse as the second and third noun phrases
of a sentence in unmarked word-order, with the accusative commonly mark-
ing the direct and the dative regularly marking the indirect object in Old Norse,
second position the indirect and third position the direct object (by and large)
in English.

Mat and drykk are both direct objects: they are the goal of the

action, and whereas direct objects regularly appear unaccompanied by indi-
rect objects, the reverse is very uncommon (cf. the impossibility of English *

gave him). The direct objects appear here in the accusative, the most common
case for this function.

(6)

ﬁeir báru ﬂar rei›a allan af skipinu
‘They bore there tackle all off ship-the’
‘There they carried all the tackle off the ship’

Rei›a (weak acc. m. sg.), modified by allan, is the second noun phrase in the
sentence and the direct object of the verb

báru. Skipinu (strong dat. n. sg. +

def. art.) does not function here as a noun phrase, but as part of the preposition
phrase

af skipinu, and its case is determined by the preposition af (see 3.7.3).

(7)

Hann átti margar orrustur í Englandi
‘He had many battles in England’

Orrustur (weak acc. f. pl.), modified by margar, is the second noun phrase in
the sentence and the direct object of the verb

átti. Englandi (strong dat. n. sg.)

is part of the preposition phrase

í Englandi, and its case is determined by the

preposition

í (see 3.7.4).

(8)

ﬁeir drukku ﬂar of daga í skála miklum
‘They drank there during days in hall big’
‘They drank there by day in a big hall’

Daga (strong acc. m. pl.) is governed by the preposition of, skála (weak dat.
m. sg.), + its modifier

miklum, by the preposition í.

(9)

Lát ﬂér ﬂat ekki í augu vaxa
‘Let to-you that not into eyes grow’
‘Don’t make a mountain of it’

This is an idiomatic phrase, of which Old Norse has its fair share.

Augu (weak

acc. n. pl.) is governed by the preposition

í, which requires the accusative here

because a sense of motion is involved (contrast examples 7 and 8).

Morphology and syntax

(10)

Dval›isk Brúsi litla hrí›
‘Stayed-

sk [see 3.6.5.3] Brúsi little while’

‘Brúsi stayed for a short time’

Brúsi (weak nom. m. sg.) is the subject; it is the first noun phrase in the sen-
tence and the man bearing the name performs the action denoted by the verb
dval›isk. Hrí› (strong acc. f. sg.), modified by litla, is an adverbial phrase
expressing duration of time (it answers the question: ‘How long?’).

(11)

Hann hefndi dráps ﬁorgríms
‘He avenged killing of-ﬁorgrímr’
‘He avenged the killing of ﬁorgrímr’

Dráps (strong gen. n. sg.), the second noun phrase of the sentence, is the
direct object of the verb

hefndi; hefna is one of the few verbs that take a direct

object in the genitive.

ﬁorgríms (strong gen. m. sg.) is an objective genitive,

that is, it corresponds to English ‘of ﬁorgrímr’ and presents

ﬁorgrímr as the

object or goal of an action (cf. ‘NN killed ﬁorgrímr’).

(12)

Hann sendi ﬂá vestr at leita ƒndvegissúlna sinna
‘He sent them west to seek high-seat-posts

REFL

POSS

.’

‘He sent them west to look for his high-seat posts’

¯ndvegissúlna (weak gen. f. pl.), modified by sinna, is the direct object of the
verb

leita. It comes in an infinitive clause (i.e., we have the infinitive at leita

‘to seek’, but only an implied subject). A full sentence might run:

ﬂeir leitu›u

ƒndvegissúlna ‘they sought the high-seat posts’, in which the direct object
would be the second noun phrase.

(13)

Gunnarr var eina nótt at Sigrí›ar, frændkonu sinnar
‘Gunnarr was one night at Sigrí›r’s, kinswoman’s

REFL

POSS

.’

‘Gunnarr stayed one night at Sigrí›r’s, his kinswoman’s’

Gunnarr (strong nom. m. sg.), the first noun phrase in the sentence, is the
subject; he does the staying.

Nótt (strong acc. f. sg.), modified by eina, is an

adverbial phrase expressing duration of time.

Sigrí›ar (strong gen. f. sg.) and

frændkonu (weak gen. f. sg.) + sinnar are subjective (possessive) genitives,
that is, they correspond to English ‘-’s’ and present Sigrí›r, the kinswoman,
as the owner of the house where Gunnarr stayed (cf. ‘NN owns the house’);
note that ‘house’ is not expressed in the Old Norse sentence, paralleling English
usage as above or in, e.g.,

I am at Peter’s.

Noun inflexions and their function

(14)

Ingólfr var frægastr allra landnámsmanna
‘Ingólfr was most-famous of-all settlers’
‘Ingólfr was most famous of all the settlers’

Ingólfr (strong nom. m. sg.) is the subject, the first noun phrase in the sen-
tence and what it is about.

Landnámsmanna (strong gen. m. pl.), modified by

allra, is a genitive of type, that is, it corresponds to English ‘of the settlers’
and presents

landnámsmenn as a type of which Ingólfr is a representative.

(15)

Hann bar hann til vatns nƒkkurs
‘He bore him to lake some’
‘He carried him to a certain lake’

Vatns (strong gen. n. sg.), modified by nƒkkurs, is governed by the preposition til.

(16)

Eigi leyna augu ef ann kona manni
‘Not hide eyes if loves woman man’
‘The eyes do not hide it if a woman loves a man’

This is an adage, consisting of two sentences.

Augu (weak nom. n. pl.), the

first (and only) noun phrase in sentence 1, is the subject of the verb

leyna; the

eyes fail to perform the action denoted by the verb.

Kona (weak nom. f. sg.) is

the subject of the verb

ann, the first noun phrase in sentence 2 and what it is

about.

Manni (strong dat. m. sg.) is the direct object of ann, the second noun

phrase; a good many verbs take a direct object in the dative.

(17)

Hon skyldi bera ƒl víkingum
‘She should bear beer to-vikings’
‘She was to serve beer to the vikings’

¯l (strong acc. n. sg.) is the direct object of the verb bera; it is the goal of the
action and the second noun phrase in the sentence.

Víkingum (strong dat. m.

pl.) is the indirect object of

bera; it denotes the beneficiary of the action and is

the third noun phrase. In English the indirect object may be expressed by a
preposition phrase (‘to the vikings’) or word-order (‘She was to serve the
vikings beer’ — indirect object before direct); in Old Norse the indirect object
appears in the dative.

(18)

ﬁeir hétu Rƒgnvaldi traustri fylg›
‘They promised Rƒgnvaldr firm support’

Morphology and syntax

Rƒgnvaldi (strong dat. m. sg.) is the indirect, fylg› (strong dat. f. sg.), modi-
fied by

traustri, the direct object of hétu. As noted in connection with (16),

many verbs take a direct object in the dative, and

heita ‘promise’ is among these.

(19)

ﬁeir ljá jarli lífs
‘They grant earl life’
‘They spare the earl’s life’

Jarli (strong dat. m. sg.) is the indirect, lífs (strong gen. n. sg.) the direct
object of

ljá. As noted in connection with (11), a few verbs take a direct object

in the genitive, and

ljá ‘grant’ is among these.

(20)

Hann kastar beinum smám um ﬂvert gólfit

‘He throws bones small over crossways floor-the’
‘He throws small bones across the floor’

Beinum (strong dat. n. pl.), modified by smám, has instrumental sense; in Old
Norse people are conceived as throwing

with something (cf. the close seman-

tic relationship between English:

He threw water onto the ground and He

splashed the ground with water). Instrumentality in Old Norse is expressed
either by the dative on its own or by the preposition

me› ‘with’ + dat. Gólfit

(strong acc. n. sg. + def. art.), modified by

ﬂvert, is governed by the preposi-

tion

um.

(21)

Hon var hverri konu frí›ari
‘She was than-every woman more-beautiful’
‘She was more beautiful than any other woman’

Konu (weak dat. f. sg.), modified by hverri, is the second proposition in a
comparative construction — the proposition denoting the entity with which
the comparison is made (i.e., taking every other woman as the basis — the
standard by which ‘she’ is to be judged — ‘she’ is more beautiful); in Old
Norse the basis of the comparison may be expressed either by the dative, as
here, or by the conjunction

en ‘than’ (3.8, 3.8.2.4) + the appropriate case.

(22)

Váru dyrr á enda
‘Was doorway on end’
‘There was a doorway at the end’

Dyrr (nom. f. pl.) is the first noun phrase in the sentence and the subject. It has
only plural forms, although it corresponds to the English singular ‘doorway’.

Noun inflexions and their function

These forms are also in part irregular (see 3.1.7.2, 3.1.7.4), and the nom. f. pl.
is indicated by other means than the adding of -

a, -i or -u + r to the root. Enda

(weak dat. m. sg.) is governed by the preposition

á.

3.1.5 Examples of noun usage — Exercise

1. What are the principal functions of the nominative case in Old

Norse?

2. What cases are used to denote the direct object?
3. What role do prepositions play in the assignment of case?
4. Account for the use of all the genitives in the above examples.
5. What case is used to denote the indirect object?
6. How is instrumentality expressed?
7. What is the role of the dative case in comparative constructions?
8. Where may the accusative be found other than as a marker of the

direct object?

3.1.6 Difficulties in recognising noun inflexions and ways of over-
coming them

Unfortunately it is not enough just to learn the endings listed in the
tables in 3.1.4. For one thing, Old Norse nouns ring the changes on a
relatively small number of endings. We find little other than the vowels
-

a, -i, -u or the consonants -r, -s on their own, or -a, -i, -u in conjunc-

tion with the consonants -

m, -n, -r. This parsimony has the effect that

the same ending may be found in a variety of different cases. While

-s

clearly signals the genitive singular, and -

um the dative plural, for

example,

-ar may be genitive singular or nominative or accusative

plural, and

-a can denote any case in the singular as well as accusative

and genitive plural.

Very often the context can determine which number and case a par-

ticular form represents. It will be clear from the overall sense of the
sentence and the passage of which it forms a part — and usually, too,
from the forms of words dependent on the noun: their number, and
regularly their case and gender as well. Thus in the example sentence (4):

Vápn bíta ekki á hann

Morphology and syntax

we know that

vápn is plural because the verb-form bíta, dependent on

the number of the subject (see 3.6.1), is also plural (cf. English

dogs

bite as opposed to John bites). Since vápn has no plural ending we
may further deduce that it is neuter — though this deduction is in
itself no help in gauging the role of the noun in the sentence, since
we have already established that it is the subject and plural. In sen-
tence (10):

Dval›isk Brúsi litla hrí›

we can tell from the agreement between the noun form

hrí› and the

adjective form

litla that we are dealing with the accusative feminine

singular. ‘Agreement’ means that there is a formal relationship be-
tween the two words, expressed by their having the same case, gender
and number (see further 3.3.1), and since

litla can only be acc. f. sg. or

acc. m. pl. (see 3.3.9, paradigm 9), and

hrí› cannot be acc. m. pl., the

case, gender and number they have in common must be acc. f. sg.
Having established that, we may further deduce that accusative case
in conjunction with a verb meaning ‘stayed’ (

dval›isk) — and given

the sense of

hrí› (‘while’ ‘short time’) — indicates duration of time.

In (6):

ﬁeir báru ﬂar rei›a allan af skipinu

it is the form of the agreeing adjective,

allan ‘all’, which shows that of

the various cases

rei›a might be, singular or plural, it is in fact accusa-

tive singular, the adjective ending -

an denoting acc. m. sg. alone (see

3.3.4). That it is accusative means it is likely to be the direct object of
the verb

báru ‘carried’ (examination of the other words in the sen-

tence and their forms will in fact show that to be the only possible
analysis). That it is singular is of little consequence, since

rei›i does

not normally appear in the plural (any more than ‘tackle’ in English).
That it is masculine is of importance to the extent that when used with
a function that requires accusative case, the agreeing adjective will
show the case, gender and number unambiguously.

Noun inflexions and their function

3.1.6 Difficulties in recognising noun inflexions and ways of over-
coming them — Exercise

1. Why may it sometimes be difficult to recognise the case and number

of nouns in Old Norse?

2. What means can we use to help deduce their case and number?

3.1.7 Important variations in noun inflexion

A further problem for the learner of Old Norse is that the endings
listed so far are by no means the whole story (cf., e.g.,

dyrr, nom. f.

pl., in example sentence 22). To be reasonably sure of recognising a
particular case-form for what it is, the student needs to be aware of
additional features that play their part in noun inflexion. These will
now be examined.

3.1.7.1 Labial mutation

Mutation, sometimes known by the German term

Umlaut, occurs where

the vowel of a stressed syllable adopts one or more of the features of
the vowel or semi-vowel of the immediately following unstressed
syllable. The vowel

u and the semi-vowel w (the latter written ‘v’ in

standardised Old Norse spelling) are labial sounds, that is, they are
pronounced with rounded lips. Rounding is thus one of the features
that characterise them. This feature is regularly adopted by a preced-
ing stressed

a, so instead of appearing as a it takes the form ƒ, i.e. it is

pronounced like

a with lip-rounding (see 2.1.1). In fact, it is a rule of

Old Norse that

a cannot appear before u or v in the next syllable. A

noun with

a in the root will therefore always change that a to ƒ when

the ending consists of or contains a

u. Thus, the dative plural of the

nouns

ma›r ‘man’, bardagi ‘battle’, and vatn ‘lake’, which appear in

the example sentences, is

mƒnnum, bardƒgum, vƒtnum (see paradigms

2, 9, 26 below). A weak feminine noun like

saga ‘story’ has root a

only in the nominative singular and genitive plural; the remaining forms
are

sƒgu (acc./gen./dat. sg.), sƒgur (nom./acc. pl.) and sƒgum (dat. pl.,

see paradigm 23). Likewise, the weak neuter

hjarta ‘heart’ has the

nom./acc. pl. forms

hjƒrtu and dat. hjƒrtum.

Morphology and syntax

The rule that root

a changes to ƒ before u should not cause the learner

problems, as long as s/he remembers that an unknown word with
ƒ in the root and u in the ending must be looked up in a dictionary
as though it had root a if it cannot be found there with root ƒ. For
example,

stjƒrnur (nom./acc. pl.), fjƒru (acc./gen./dat. sg.), dƒlum,

grƒnnum (both dat. pl.) will be found not under stjƒ-, fjƒ-, dƒ-, grƒ-,
but under

stjarna ‘star’, fjara ‘shore’, dalr ‘valley’, granni ‘neighbour’.

Somewhat greater difficulties are caused for the learner by the fact

that strong feminine and neuter nouns may exhibit root

ƒ in certain

forms even though no

u or v follows. The reason for the occurrence of

ƒ here is the presence of a following u at an earlier stage of the language.
This

u caused a to develop to ƒ and was subsequently lost (e.g.

nom./acc. n. pl. *

landu > lƒnd ‘countries’). The forms concerned are:

nominative, accusative and dative feminine singular and nominative
and accusative neuter plural. In addition, a small group of masculine
nouns (several of them very common) has root

ƒ in the nominative

and accusative singular. If the feminine or masculine nouns are met
with in forms with root

ƒ, no problem arises for the learner, since the

nominative singular is also the entry form in dictionaries. For neuter
plurals with root ƒ, however, root a must be substituted before
the word is sought in a dictionary, e.g. fjƒll ‘mountains’, lƒnd ‘coun-
tries’ will be found under

fjall, land (see paradigm 26).

Difficulties with masculines and feminines of this type occur where

a form other than one with root

ƒ is encountered. The bulk of the

feminines are the least troublesome: in the genitive singular, nomina-
tive, accusative and genitive plural these have root

a, so the process of

looking such words up is simply the reverse of that which applies in
the case of those like

stjƒrnur, fjƒru, dƒlum, or grƒnnum. For exam-

ple,

kvalar (gen. sg. or nom./acc. pl.), hafnar (gen. sg.), hafnir (nom./

acc. pl.),

kvala, hafna (gen. pl.) will be found not under *kval or *hafn,

but under

kvƒl ‘torment’, and hƒfn ‘harbour’ (see paradigm 12). The

residual feminines and the masculines with original root

a present a

more complex picture in that it is only in the genitive singular and
plural that

a appears. In the remaining forms, where there is or has

been no

u in the endings (automatically triggering a > ƒ, cf. above),

i.e., dative singular and nominative (also analogically accusative) plural
masculine, nominative and accusative plural feminine, we most often
find root

e, though sometimes i (see 3.1.7.2). Thus vallar (gen. sg.),

Noun inflexions and their function

valla (gen. pl.), velli (dat. sg.), vellir (nom. pl.) should all be looked up
under

vƒllr ‘field’, m., fjar›ar (gen. sg.), fjar›a (gen. pl.), fir›i (dat.

sg.),

fir›ir (nom. pl.) under fjƒr›r ‘fjord’, m., strandar (gen. sg.),

stranda (gen. pl.), strendr (nom./acc. pl.) under strƒnd ‘beach’, f. (see
paradigms 4, 5, 18).

U-mutation affects unstressed as well as stressed syllables. In un-

stressed syllables, however, it results in

u, thus enabling the mutation

to spread further. The strong masculine noun

fƒgnu›r ‘joy’, for exam-

ple, comes ultimately from *

fagna›uz via the intermediate forms, first

fagnƒ›uz and then *fagnu›uz. The u-mutated forms — nom. and acc.

sg. and dat. pl.:

fƒgnu›r, fƒgnu›, fƒgnu›um — thus contrast markedly

with the other parts of the paradigm whose root is

fagna›- (see para-

digm 6). A strong neuter noun like

sumar ‘summer’ has nom. and acc.

pl.

sumur (< *sumuru < *sumƒru < *sumaru) (paradigm 27).

3.1.7.1 Labial mutation — Exercise

1. What does the term ‘mutation’ (‘

Umlaut’) refer to?

2. In what circumstances does root

a change to ƒ in Old Norse?

3. Look up the following nouns in an Old Norse dictionary or in the

Glossary in

NION III and write down the entry forms you find:

nƒfnum (n.), gƒtur (f.), vƒku (f.), ƒrmum (m.).

4. In which cases, genders and numbers can we expect to find root

where no

u follows in the next syllable?

5. Look up the following nouns in an Old Norse dictionary or in the

Glossary in

NION III and write down the entry forms you find:

gjƒld (n.), lƒmb (n.), raddar (f.), sagnir (f.), hatta (m.), vaxtar (m.).

3.1.7.2 Front mutation

Front mutation, in common with its labial counterpart, mainly con-
cerns the adoption by the vowel of a stressed syllable of a feature of
the vowel or semi-vowel of the immediately following unstressed syl-
lable. Here, however, the principal conditioning factors were the front
vowel

i and the front semi-vowel j. So-called ‘palatal r’ (or z, as in

*kuz/*ku

, which developed to

k‡r, see below), and the combined

Morphology and syntax

influence of earlier -

ge, -ke (as in *dage, which became degi, see below)

— as well as analogical levelling (the restructuring of forms by the
force of analogy) — also played their part in this process. All the con-
ditioning sounds are likely to have been pronounced with the front of
the tongue raised close to its maximum height, and their presence had
the effect of turning a preceding back vowel (one pronounced with the
back of the tongue raised or lowered) into its front counterpart. Thus
ó, for example, which is a mid-high back vowel (the back of the tongue
is raised to above mid-height, but not to its full extent), became

œ, a

mid-high front vowel, when an

i, j or other ‘conditioner’ followed.

That is why the masculine noun

fótr ‘foot’ and the feminine bók ‘book’

have nominative plurals

fœtr, bœkr respectively (see paradigms 7 and

19).

As these introductory remarks and examples suggest, front muta-

tion, unlike the labial variety, is very much a historical process (it is
also common to most Germanic languages, cf. English

foot — feet,

man — men, German Fuß — Füße, Mann — Männer). It occurred at
a stage of Scandinavian language development that preceded Old
Norse, and had ceased to be productive some time before the Old Norse
period. This has two important consequences for the recognition of
inflexions. First, we find an unstressed

i that does not cause front mu-

tation because it arose after the period when mutation was taking place,
e.g. dat. m. sg.

armi ‘arm’ (< *arme). This circumstance makes it

impossible to formulate a hard-and-fast rule (like

a > ƒ before u, v)

stating which stressed vowels we can expect to find immediately pre-
ceding

i. Second, the i, j or other conditioner triggering the fronting

may no longer be present (very often it is not — cf.

fœtr and bœkr

above, earlier forms of which were *

fotiz, *bokiz). This latter situa-

tion is parallel to the loss of

u in forms such as fjƒll ‘mountains’, hƒfn

‘harbour’, noted in 3.1.7.1.

With such complications, what the learner of Old Norse needs to

know are the front mutation products of the back vowels affected, so
that s/he may recognise that

fótr — fœtr or bók — bœkr, for example,

are different forms of the same lexical item. It is further useful to
know where in different paradigms to expect front-mutated root vowels.

The back : front correspondences arising from front mutation, to-

gether with examples (contrasting nom. sg. with nom. pl. unless other-
wise stated), are as follows:

Noun inflexions and their function

a —— e

(

dagr —— degi ‘day’, nom. and dat. m. sg.)

á —— æ

(

tá —— tær ‘toe’, f.)

o —— ø

(

hnot —— hnøtr ‘nut’, f.)

ó —— œ

(

bóndi —— bœndr ‘farmer’, m.)

u —— y

(

dura —— dyrr ‘doorway’, gen. and nom. f. pl.)

ú —— ‡

(

mús —— m‡ss ‘mouse’, f.)

au —— ey

(

aurar —— eyrir ‘ounce’, nom. m. pl. and sg.)

Occasionally

o (from an earlier u) and ó (from an earlier leng-

thened

a) can correspond to y and æ respectively (e.g. sonr —— synir

‘son’, m.;

nótt —— nætr ‘night’, f.).

The places where front mutation forms are to be expected in noun

paradigms are:

(1) nom., acc., gen. sg. of words (all masculine) ending in -

ill (e.g.

lykill ‘key’ — dat. sg. lukli, pl. forms all with root lukl-; see paradigm 3).

(2) dat. sg. of certain masculines (notably those with root vowel

ƒ in

the nom. sg., e.g.

hetti — nom. sg. hƒttr ‘hood’; birni — nom. sg.

bjƒrn ‘bear’ (not strictly mutation, but often counted as such, see
3.1.7.3);

fœti — nom. sg. fótr ‘foot’; see paradigms 4, 5 and 7).

(3) nom. pl. of a good many masculines (again, notably those with

root vowel

ƒ in the nom. sg.) and feminines (e.g. kettir — nom. m. sg.

kƒttr ‘cat’; ﬂættir — nom. m. sg. ﬂáttr ‘strand’, ‘short story’; fe›r —
nom. m. sg.

fa›ir ‘father’; hendr — nom. f. sg. hƒnd ‘hand’; bœtr —

nom. f. sg.

bót ‘compensation’; k‡r — acc. f. sg. kú ‘cow’ (see (5)

below); paradigms 5, 8, 18, 19, 21).

(4) acc. pl. of a few masculines (and, in later texts, of most of those

with root vowel

ƒ in the nom. sg.) and all feminines included under

(3) (e.g.

fœtr — nom. m. sg. fótr ‘foot’; velli (as alternative to vƒllu)

— nom. m. sg.

vƒllr ‘field’ ‘ground’; fe›r, hendr, bœtr, k‡r — as under

(3); paradigms 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 21).

Additional cases of front mutation in nouns, affecting only a few

words, but often very common ones, are:

(5) nom. and gen. sg. of the feminines

k‡r ‘cow’; s‡r ‘sow’; ær ‘ewe’

(contrast acc. and dat. sg., gen. and dat. pl. of, e.g.,

k‡r: kú, kú, kúa,

kúm; paradigm 21).

(6) gen. sg. of certain feminines (e.g.

bœkr — nom. sg. bók ‘book’;

nætr — nom. sg. nátt ‘night’; the genitives of these feminines can also
be found without mutation and with the more usual ending -

ar;

paradigm 19).

Morphology and syntax

(7) dat. sg., gen. and dat. pl. of four nouns of relationship:

fa›ir

‘father’, m.;

bró›ir ‘brother’, m.; mó›ir ‘mother’, f.; dóttir ‘daughter’, f.

(e.g.

fe›r, dat. sg., fe›ra, gen. pl., fe›rum, dat. pl.; mœ›r, dat. sg.,

mœ›ra, gen. pl., mœ›rum, dat. pl.; the dative singular of these nouns
can also be found with the ending -

ur, causing labial rather than front

mutation in

fa›ir; paradigms 8, 22).

It is further worth noting a small group of weak masculines consist-

ing of root + -

and- suffix. These have front mutation in the nom. and

acc. pl., but it affects the suffix only (e.g.

dómandi ‘judge’, nom. and

acc. pl.

dómendr; with contraction of the suffix: bóndi (< búandi)

‘farmer’, nom./acc. pl.

bœndr; paradigm 10).

3.1.7.2 Front mutation — Exercise

1. Which front-mutated vowels correspond with which back vowels?
2. In which parts of noun paradigms are front-mutated vowels to be

expected?

3. Does front mutation ever affect other syllables than the initial?
4. Look up the following nouns in an Old Norse dictionary or in

NION

III and write down the entry forms you find:

strendr (f.), rœtr (f.),

mætti (m.), br‡r (f.), tugli (m.), erni (m.), eigendr (m.), katlar (m.).

3.1.7.3 Breaking

Like front mutation, breaking is a historical phenomenon. Its causes
are disputed, but it results in a diphthong where earlier there was a
single vowel sound, cf. ON ja

fn ‘even [adj.]’, hjƒr› ‘herd’, f., with the

English and German counterparts e

ven, eben and herd, Herde. Though

there are many nouns in ON with a broken (diphthongised) root vowel,
there are only a few where this alternates with unbroken varieties within
the paradigm, causing difficulties of recognition for the learner. In a
small group of masculine nouns conditions have favoured breaking in
all cases except the dat. sg. and nom. pl., where the root vowel

i (from

earlier

e) is found. While the acc. and gen. sg. and acc., gen. and dat.

pl. of

skjƒldr ‘shield’ are thus skjƒld, skjaldar, skjƒldu, skjalda,

skjƒldum respectively, the dat. sg. and nom. pl. are skildi, skildir (see
paradigm 4). All such nouns have root vowel

jƒ in the nom. sg.

Noun inflexions and their function

3.1.7.4 Deviations from the basic endings

Certain endings occur that do not accord with those given on pp. 29–30.
We have already seen in 3.1.7.1 and 3.1.7.2 above that the nom. and
acc. pl. of a number of common masculine and feminine nouns end in
-

r rather than -a, -i or -u + r. Other deviations which may cause prob-

lems of recognition are:

(1) Nominative masculine singulars that lack the -

r ending. These

are due to the assimilation of

r to an immediately preceding l, n, s (e.g.

lykill ‘key’, m. (< *lykilr); hrafn ‘raven’, m. (< *hrafnn < *hrafnr);
áss ‘god’, m. (< *ásr); see paradigms 3, 5). Hrafn exemplifies a general
rule that consonant + geminate (double) consonant is simplified to
consonant + single consonant (thus also in nouns with consonant +
root

r; compare, e.g., nom. and acc. m. sg. vetr ‘winter’, the former

from earlier *

vetrr). Nominative and accusative plural -r can be

assimilated in the same way as nom. sg. when the pl. ending does not
contain a vowel (e.g.

mús ‘mouse’, f. — nom. and acc. pl. m‡ss).

(2) A small group of strong feminines that has -

r in the nom. sg., just

as most strong masculines, and -

i in the acc. and dat. sg. (e.g. hei›r,

hei›i, hei›i ‘moor’; see paradigm 17).

(3) Strong feminines with the suffix -

ing or -ung, as well as a few

others, that have -

u in the dat. sg. (e.g. dróttning ‘queen’, dat. sg.

dróttningu; sól ‘sun’, dat. sg. (usually) sólu; see paradigm 14).

(4) A small group of weak feminines that has -

i throughout the

singular (e.g.

gle›i ‘joy’; see paradigm 24). These nouns denote ab-

stract concepts and have no plural form.

(5) A few nouns with root

nn that have -›r in the nom. sg. (e.g. mu›r

‘mouth’, m., acc. sg.

munn; forku›r ‘strong desire’, f., gen. sg.

forkunnar).

3.1.7.5 Minor irregularities

The inflexions of ON nouns exhibit yet other deviations from the basic
pattern, but these are less likely to cause the learner problems of
recognition.

(1) The unstressed syllables of many disyllabic nouns lose their vowel

when an inflexional ending is added which itself consists of a syllable
(e.g.

ﬂistill ‘thistle’, m. — dat. sg. ﬂistli, nom., acc., gen., dat. pl. ﬂistlar,

Morphology and syntax

ﬂistla, ﬂistla, ﬂistlum; hir›ir ‘shepherd’, m. — dat. sg. hir›i (not
*hir›ii), nom., acc., gen., dat. pl. hir›ar, hir›a, hir›a, hir›um; sumar
‘summer’, n. — dat. sg.

sumri, gen., dat. pl. sumra, sumrum; kvæ›i

‘poem’, n. — dat. sg.

kvæ›i (not *kvæ›ii), gen., dat. pl. kvæ›a, kvæ›um;

see paradigms 3, 27; note also 28).

(2) The vowels of inflexional endings tend to be dropped when they

immediately follow a long vowel of the same or similar quality (e.g.

‘stream’, f. — gen. sg.

ár, nom., acc., gen., dat. pl. ár, ár, á, ám; kné

‘knee’, n. — dat. sg.

kné; see paradigms 16, 29).

(3) Where stressed

é is followed by unstressed a or u, the stress

tends to be shifted onto the latter (with resultant vowel lengthening
and occasionally vowel change), the

é becoming the semi-vowel j (e.g.

kné ‘knee’, n. — gen. pl. knjá (< *knéa), dat. pl. knjám or knjóm
(< *

knéum); paradigm 29).

(4) In some nouns

j is inserted before inflexional endings consisting

of or beginning in

a or u; in others v is inserted before endings consist-

ing of or beginning in

a or i (e.g. erfingi ‘heir’, m. — acc., gen., dat.

sg.

erfingja, nom., acc., gen., dat. pl. erfingjar, erfingja, erfingja,

erfingjum; ey ‘island’, f. — gen., dat. sg. eyjar, eyju, nom., acc., gen.,
dat. pl.

eyjar, eyjar, eyja, eyjum; sker ‘skerry’, n. — gen., dat. pl. skerja,

skerjum; sƒngr ‘song’, m. — dat. sg. sƒngvi, nom., acc., gen. pl.
sƒngvar, sƒngva, sƒngva; ƒr ‘arrow’, f. — gen. sg. ƒrvar, nom., acc.,
gen. pl.

ƒrvar, ƒrvar, ƒrva; see paradigm 15).

3.1.7.3/3.1.7.4/3.1.7.5 Breaking/Deviations from the basic endings/
Minor irregularities — Exercise

1. Look up the following nouns in an Old Norse dictionary or in the

Glossary in

NION III and write down the entry forms you find:

birni (m.), skildir (m.), djƒful (m.), sveinar (m.), byr›i (f.).

2. Which group of strong nouns have -

u in the dative singular?

3. What is unusual about the inflexion of the noun

gle›i and of other

feminines in -

4. Look up the following nouns in an Old Norse dictionary or in

NION

III

and write down the entry forms you find: himnar (m.), hersar

(m.),

gamni (n.), erendum (n.), gjár (f.), benjar (f.), hƒggvi (n.).

Noun inflexions and their function

3.1.8 Examples of noun inflexion

Having established the basic pattern of noun inflexions (pp. 29–30),
and discussed the principal variations, we can now proceed to flesh
out this skeleton with complete paradigms of individual nouns. These
follow below.

It is customary when presenting nouns in Old Norse grammars to

provide an example of every or virtually every inflexional type and to
divide this wealth of data into classes and sub-classes, based often on
features that had died out before the Old Norse period began. This
does not help the learner much, and here instead an example is given
of each of the basic patterns of noun inflexion, augmented by such
others as will assist in the recognition of the majority of forms likely
to be encountered in Old Norse texts. These examples should be stud-
ied in conjunction with the guidance given in 3.1.4, 3.1.6 and 3.1.7.
Each pattern or paradigm is numbered for ease of reference.

Strong masculine (basic pattern)

(1)

hestr ‘horse’

Sg.

nom.

hestr

Pl.

nom.

hestar

acc.

hest

acc.

hesta

gen.

hests

gen.

hesta

dat.

hesti

dat.

hestum

(2)

sta›r ‘place’

Sg.

nom.

sta›r

Pl.

nom.

sta›ir

acc.

sta›

acc.

sta›i

gen.

sta›ar

gen.

sta›a

dat.

sta›

dat.

stƒ›um

Strong masculine (other patterns)

(3)

ketill ‘kettle’‘pot’

Sg.

nom.

ketill

Pl.

nom.

katlar

acc.

ketil

acc.

katla

gen.

ketils

gen.

katla

dat.

katli

dat.

kƒtlum

Morphology and syntax

(4)

skjƒldr ‘shield’

Sg.

nom.

skjƒldr

Pl.

nom.

skildir

acc.

skjƒld

acc.

skjƒldu

gen.

skjaldar

gen.

skjalda

dat.

skildi

dat.

skjƒldum

(5)

ƒrn ‘eagle’

Sg.

nom.

ƒrn

Pl.

nom.

ernir

acc.

ƒrn

acc.

ƒrnu/erni

gen.

arnar

gen.

arna

dat.

erni

dat.

ƒrnum

(6)

fƒgnu›r ‘joy’

Sg.

nom.

fƒgnu›r

Pl.

nom.

fagna›ir

acc.

fƒgnu›

acc.

fagna›i

gen.

fagna›ar

gen.

fagna›a

dat.

fagna›i

dat.

fƒgnu›um

(7)

fótr ‘foot’

Sg.

nom.

fótr

Pl.

nom.

fœtr

acc.

fót

acc.

fœtr

gen.

fótar

gen.

fóta

dat.

fœti

dat.

fótum

(8)

fa›ir ‘father’

Sg.

nom.

fa›ir

Pl.

nom.

fe›r

acc.

fƒ›ur

acc.

fe›r

gen.

fƒ›ur

gen.

fe›ra

dat.

fe›r/fƒ›ur

dat.

fe›rum

Weak masculine (basic pattern)

(9)

bardagi ‘battle’

Sg.

nom.

bardagi

Pl.

nom.

bardagar

acc.

bardaga

acc.

bardaga

gen.

bardaga

gen.

bardaga

dat.

bardaga

dat.

bardƒgum

Noun inflexions and their function

Weak masculine (other pattern)

(10)

eigandi ‘owner’

Sg.

nom.

eigandi

Pl.

nom.

eigendr

acc.

eiganda

acc.

eigendr

gen.

eiganda

gen.

eiganda

dat.

eiganda

dat.

eigƒndum

Strong feminine (basic pattern)

(11)

laug ‘bath’

Sg.

nom.

laug

Pl.

nom.

laugar

acc.

laug

acc.

laugar

gen.

laugar

gen.

lauga

dat.

laug

dat.

laugum

(12)

mƒn ‘mane’

Sg.

nom.

mƒn

Pl.

nom.

manar

acc.

mƒn

acc.

manar

gen.

manar

gen.

mana

dat.

mƒn

dat.

mƒnum

(13)

hlí› ‘slope’ ‘hillside’

Sg.

nom.

hlí›

Pl.

nom.

hlí›ir

acc.

hlí›

acc.

hlí›ir

gen.

hlí›ar

gen.

hlí›a

dat.

hlí›

dat.

hlí›um

Strong feminine (other patterns)

(14)

kerling ‘old woman’

Sg.

nom.

kerling

Pl.

nom.

kerlingar

acc.

kerling

acc.

kerlingar

gen.

kerlingar

gen.

kerlinga

dat.

kerlingu

dat.

kerlingum

Morphology and syntax

(15)

ey ‘island’

Sg.

nom.

Pl.

nom.

eyjar

acc.

eyjar

gen.

eyjar

gen.

eyja

dat.

eyju

dat.

eyjum

(16)

á ‘stream’

Sg.

nom.

Pl.

nom.

ár

acc.

ár

gen.

ár

gen.

dat.

ám

(17)

hei›r ‘heath’

Sg.

nom.

hei›r

Pl.

nom.

hei›ar

acc.

hei›i

acc.

hei›ar

gen.

hei›ar

gen.

hei›a

dat.

hei›i

dat.

hei›um

(18)

strƒnd ‘shore’

Sg.

nom.

strƒnd

Pl.

nom.

strendr

acc.

strƒnd

acc.

strendr

gen.

strandar

gen.

stranda

dat.

strƒnd

dat.

strƒndum

(19)

bók ‘book’

Sg.

nom.

bók

Pl.

nom.

bœkr

acc.

bók

acc.

bœkr

gen.

bœkr/bókar

gen.

bóka

dat.

bók

dat.

bókum

(20)

tá ‘toe’

Sg.

nom.

tá

Pl.

nom.

tær

acc.

tá

acc.

tær

gen.

tár

gen.

tá

dat.

tá

dat.

tám

Noun inflexions and their function

(21)

k‡r ‘cow’

Sg.

nom.

k‡r

Pl.

nom.

k‡r

acc.

kú

acc.

k‡r

gen.

k‡r

gen.

kúa

dat.

kú

dat.

kúm

(22)

dóttir ‘daughter’

Sg.

nom.

dóttir

Pl.

nom.

dœtr

acc.

dóttur

acc.

dœtr

gen.

dóttur

gen.

dœtra

dat.

dœtr/dóttur

dat.

dœtrum

Weak feminine (basic pattern)

(23)

saga ‘story’

Sg.

nom.

saga

Pl.

nom.

sƒgur

acc.

sƒgu

acc.

sƒgur

gen.

sƒgu

gen.

sagna

dat.

sƒgu

dat.

sƒgum

Weak feminine (other pattern)

(24)

rei›i ‘anger’

Sg.

nom., acc., gen., dat.

rei›i

Strong neuter (basic pattern)

(25)

or› ‘word’

Sg.

nom.

or›

Pl.

nom.

or›

acc.

or›

acc.

or›

gen.

or›s

gen.

or›a

dat.

or›i

dat.

or›um

Morphology and syntax

(26)

vatn ‘water’,‘lake’

Sg.

nom.

vatn

Pl.

nom.

vƒtn

acc.

vatn

acc.

vƒtn

gen.

vatns

gen.

vatna

dat.

vatni

dat.

vƒtnum

(27)

sumar ‘summer’

Sg.

nom.

sumar

Pl.

nom.

sumur

acc.

sumar

acc.

sumur

gen.

sumars

gen.

sumra

dat.

sumri

dat.

sumrum

(28)

erindi ‘message’, ‘speech’

Sg.

nom.

erindi

Pl.

nom.

erindi

acc.

erindi

acc.

erindi

gen.

erindis

gen.

erinda

dat.

erindi

dat.

erindum

Strong neuter (other pattern)

(29)

kné ‘knee’

Sg.

nom.

kné

Pl.

nom.

kné

acc.

kné

acc.

kné

gen.

knés

gen.

knjá

dat.

kné

dat.

knjám/knjóm

Weak neuter (basic pattern)

(30)

auga ‘eye’

Sg.

nom.

auga

Pl.

nom.

augu

acc.

auga

acc.

augu

gen.

auga

gen.

augna

dat.

auga

dat.

augum

Noun inflexions and their function

The learner who has conscientiously mastered the above should

be in a position to recognise the forms of virtually all the Old Norse
nouns with which s/he is confronted in a text. It should further be
possible to deduce the nominative singular form of unfamiliar
nouns, so that these can be looked up in a dictionary. (The amount
of help offered by dictionaries varies, but in addition to the nomina-
tive singular, the genitive singular and nominative plural are usually
noted, as well as (other) forms that cannot easily be predicted.)

3.1.8 Examples of noun inflexion — Exercise

Identify the case, gender, number, syntactic function and semantic role
of the nouns printed in bold in the following passage (adapted from
Hrafnkels saga Freysgo›a ‘The Saga of Hrafnkell, Priest of Freyr’).
Where a noun appears in a case other than the nominative singular,
give the nominative singular — the dictionary entry — form. In the
case of compound nouns, give the case, gender, number, function and
role of the last element only (e.g., in

Brei›dal, analyse -dal, in

Hallfre›arstƒ›um, -stƒ›um and in fjárskiptis, -skiptis).

ﬁat var á dƒgum Haralds konungs ins hárfagra, Hálfdanar sonar
ins svarta, at sá ma›r kom skipi sínu til Íslands í Brei›dal, er
Hallfre›r hét.

It was in days of-Haraldr king the hairfair, Hálfdan’s son the black, that
that man came with-ship

REFL

POSS

. to Iceland into Brei›dalr, who Hallfre›r

was-called.

It was in the days of King Haraldr fairhair, son of Hálfdan the black, that
a man called Hallfre›r brought his ship to Iceland, to Brei›dalr.

ﬁar var á skipi kona hans ok sonr, er Hrafnkell hét. Hann var fimmtán
vetra gamall. Hallfre›r setti bú saman.

There was on ship wife his and son, who Hrafnkell was-called. He was
fifteen of-winters old. Hallfre›r put dwelling together.

On board the ship was his wife and son, who was called Hrafnkell. He
was fifteen years old. Hallfre›r established a farmstead.

Morphology and syntax

En um várit fœr›i Hallfre›r bú sitt nor›r yfir hei›i ok ger›i bú ﬂar,
sem heitir í Geitdal.

But in spring-the moved Hallfre›r dwelling

REFL

POSS

. north over moor

and made dwelling there that is-called in Geitdalr.

But in the spring Hallfre›r moved his dwelling northwards across the moor
and made a dwelling in the place called Geitdalr.

Ok eina nótt dreym›i hann, at ma›r kom at honum ok mælti: ‘ﬁar
liggr ﬂú, Hallfre›r, ok heldr óvarliga. Fœr ﬂú á brott bú ﬂitt ok vestr
yfir Lagarfljót. ﬁar er heill ﬂín ƒll.’

And one night dreamt him that man came to him and said: ‘there lie you,
Hallfre›r, and rather unwarily. Move you a(-)way dwelling your and west
over Lagarfljót. There is fortune your all.’

And one night he dreamt that a man came to him and said: ‘There you lie,
Hallfre›r, and rather unwarily. Move your dwelling away and westwards
across Lagarfljót. There is where all your good fortune lies.’

Eptir ﬂat vaknar hann ok fœrir bú sitt út yfir Rangá í Tungu, ﬂar sem
sí›an heitir á Hallfre›arstƒ›um, ok bjó ﬂar til elli.

After that wakes he and moves dwelling

REFL

POSS

. out over Rangá into

Tunga, there that later is-called at Hallfre›arsta›ir, and lived there till old-age.

After that he wakes up and moves his dwelling out across Rangá to Tunga,
to the place which has since been called Hallfre›arsta›ir, and lived there
into his old age.

En honum var› ﬂar eptir geit ok hafr. Ok inn sama dag, sem Hallfre›r
var í brott, hljóp skri›a á húsin, ok t‡ndusk ﬂar ﬂessir gripir, ok ﬂví
heitir ﬂat sí›an í Geitdal.

But to-him came-to-be there behind she-goat and billy-goat. And the same
day that Hallfre›r was a(-)way, ran landslide onto houses-the, and lost-

[see 3.6.5.3] there these animals, and therefore is-called it since in Geitdalr.

But it turned out he left a she-goat and a billy-goat there. And the same day as
Hallfre›r moved away, a landslide fell onto the buildings and these animals
perished there, and for that reason the place has since been called Geitdalr.

Noun inflexions and their function

Hrafnkell lag›i ﬂat í van›a sinn at rí›a yfir á hei›ar á sumarit. ﬁá var
Jƒkulsdalr albygg›r upp at brúm.

Hrafnkell laid that in custom

REFL

POSS

. to ride over onto moors in summer-

the. Then was Jƒkulsdalr fully-settled up to bridges.

Hrafnkell made it his practice to ride up onto the moors in the summer. At
this time Jƒkulsdalr was fully settled right up to the (rock) bridges.

Hrafnkell rei› upp eptir Fljótsdalshei›i ok sá, hvar ey›idalr gekk af
Jƒkulsdal. Sá dalr s‡ndisk Hrafnkatli byggiligri en a›rir dalir.

Hrafnkell rode up along Fljótsdalshei›r and saw where empty-valley went
from Jƒkulsdalr. That valley showed-

sk to-Hrafnkell more-habitable than

other valleys.

Hrafnkell rode up over Fljótsdalshei›r and saw an uninhabited valley lead-
ing off from Jƒkulsdalr. The valley seemed more habitable to Hrafnkell
than other valleys.

En er Hrafnkell kom heim, beiddi hann fƒ›ur sinn fjárskiptis, ok
sag›isk hann bústa› vilja reisa sér.

But when Hrafnkell came home, asked he father

REFL

POSS

. for-division-

of-property, and said-

sk he dwelling-place want raise for-self.

And so when Hrafnkell came home, he asked his father for a division of
the property, and said he wanted to build a dwelling for himself.

ﬁetta veitir fa›ir hans honum, ok hann gerir sér bœ í dal ﬂeim, ok
kallar á A›albóli.

This grants father his to-him, and he makes for-self farm in valley that
and calls at A›alból.

His father grants him this, and he makes himself a farm in that valley and
calls it A›alból.

Hrafnkell fekk Oddbjargar Skjƒldólfsdóttur ór Laxárdal. ﬁau áttu
tvá sonu.

Hrafnkell got Oddbjƒrg Skjƒldólfsdóttir from Laxárdalr. They had two sons.

Hrafnkell married Oddbjƒrg Skjƒldólfsdóttir from Laxárdalr. They had
two sons.

Morphology and syntax

3.1.9 The suffixed definite article

As in the Scandinavian languages in general, the definite article —
the word for ‘the’ — may be suffixed to the noun. That is to say, it
takes the form of an ending. Like the noun itself, the definite article is
inflected for number and case. In addition, it is inflected for gender,
i.e. it has different forms for masculine, feminine and neuter.

The forms of the suffixed article in Old Norse are as follows.

Masculine

Sg.

nom.

-(i)nn

Pl.

nom.

-(i)nir

acc.

-(i)nn

acc.

-(i)na

gen.

-(i)ns

gen.

-nna

dat.

-(i)num

dat.

-num

Feminine

Sg.

nom.

-(i)n

Pl.

nom.

-nar

acc.

-(i)na

acc.

-nar

gen.

-(i)nnar

gen.

-nna

dat.

-(i)nni

dat.

-num

Neuter

Sg.

nom.

-(i)t

Pl.

nom.

-(i)n

acc.

-(i)t

acc.

-(i)n

gen.

-(i)ns

gen.

-nna

dat.

-(i)nu

dat.

-num

The presence or absence of the initial -

i (in some texts -e) is unlikely

to cause the learner serious problems of recognition. In the example
sentences in 3.1.5 we had on the one hand (3), (6)

lei›inu, skipinu,

with dat. n. sg. -

i noun ending + -nu, and on the other (20) gólfit with

acc. n. sg. zero noun ending + -

it, all of them unambiguously combi-

nations of noun and definite article (cf. also

vár-it, sumar-it (both acc.

n. sg.) and

hús-in (acc. n. pl.) in the extract from Hrafnkels saga above).

Contrastive examples with and without

-i, based on the list of noun

paradigms in 3.1.8, are:

Noun inflexions and their function

hestr-inn

—

bardagi-nn

(nom. m. sg.)

sta›ar-ins

—

eiganda-ns

(gen. m. sg.)

menn-inir

—

skildir-nir

(nom. m. pl.)

hlí›-ina

—

sƒgu-na

(acc. f. sg.)

strƒnd-inni

—

á-nni

(dat. f. sg.)

kné-in

—

erindi-n

(nom./acc. n. pl.)

The most general rule governing the occurrence of initial -

i in the def.

art. is that it is found in conjunction with words of one syllable and
omitted elsewhere (contrast the left and right-hand lists above). How-
ever, there are several exceptions to this.

The -

i is omitted after the following monosyllabic forms.

(1)

Nom./acc. m./f. pl. (cf.

fœtr-nir (nom. m. pl.), fœtr-na (acc.

m. pl.)

dœtr-nar (nom./acc. f. pl.)); an exception to the ex-

ception is represented by

menn-inir, menn-ina (nom. and acc.

m. pl. respectively), though this is a rare type.

(2)

Those ending in a vowel, but only where the article is disyl-

labic (contrast

kné-in with á-nni above).

(3)

Dative masculine singulars that lack the usual -

i ending (cf.

sta›-num).

The -

i is retained after genitive singulars in -ar (cf. sta›arins above,

further

eyjarinnar (gen. f. sg.)).

Note that in the dative plural, the noun ending -(

u)m loses its m and

the article is suffixed onto the

u or stressed vowel (cf. kƒtlunum,

sƒgunum, or›unum, knjánum).

As with the nouns, certain regularities will be observed in the defi-

nite article paradigms. It will also be noticed that there are various
points of similarity between noun and article endings.

(1)

The dat. pl. always ends in -

um (as with nouns).

(2)

The gen. pl. always ends in -

a (as with nouns).

(3)

It is only in the f. sg. and m. pl. there is a difference between

nom. and acc. forms.

(4)

The gen. m. and n. sg. ends in -

s, the gen. f. sg. in -ar (as with

most nouns, though some masculine genitives end in -

ar).

(5)

The nom. m. pl. ends in -

ir, the acc. m. pl. in -a, and the

nom./acc. f. pl. in -

ar (cf. the pattern for nouns: nom. m. pl.

and nom./acc. f. pl. = vowel +

r, acc. m. pl. = vowel alone).

As well as the -(

i)nn suffix dealt with here, Old Norse has a free-

Morphology and syntax

standing definite article. However, since its use is closely bound up
with that of the adjective, it is dealt with in 3.3.5, following the de-
scription of adjective inflexions.

It should be noted that the definite article is used more sparingly in

Old Norse than in modern English. It is regularly omitted, for example,
from nouns that denote something familiar to writer and reader. Thus
konungr may mean ‘a king’ or ‘the king’ depending on the context.
Contrast:

Fornjótr hefir konungr heitit
‘Fornjótr has king been-called’
‘There was a king called Fornjótr’

Konungr var› rei›r mjƒk
‘King became angry very’
‘The king became very angry’

3.1.9 The suffixed definite article — Exercise

Identify the case, gender, number, syntactic function and semantic role
of the definite nouns printed in bold in the following sentences, and
insert a hyphen between noun and article. Where the noun appears in
a case other than nominative singular, give the nominative singular
definite form.

(1)

Brú›rin var heldr dƒpr

‘The bride was rather sad’

(2)

Illugi kipp›i inn aptr vƒrusekkunum

‘Illugi snatched in again the sacks of wares’

(3)

ﬁeir kómu til bo›sins

‘They came to the feast’

(4)

Tekr Skr‡mir nestbaggann

‘Skr‡mir takes the provision-bag’

(5)

Konan ﬂakka›i honum vel gjƒfina

‘Woman-the thanked to-him well gift-the’
‘The woman thanked him well for the gift’

Noun inflexions and their function

(6)

ﬁá sendi hann gestina út eptir ﬂeim

‘Then he sent the retainers out after them’

(7)

ﬁeir kómu ﬂá til borgarinnar

‘They came then to the castle’

(8)

Berserkrinn leit aptr yfir ána

‘The berserk looked back across the river’

(9)

ﬁá smugu ﬂeir milli spalanna

‘Then they slipped between the bars’

(10)

Lítil var gle›i manna at bo›inu

‘Little was joy of-men at feast-the’
‘Men were not very joyful at the feast’

(11)

Jarl kom út í eyjarnar

‘The earl came out to the islands’

(12)

ﬁorsteinn lag›i fæ› á Austmanninn, ok fór hann á brott
um sumarit, ok er hann nú ór sƒgunni

‘ﬁorsteinn laid coldness on easterner-the, and went he a(-)way
in summer-the, and is he now out-of story-the’
‘ﬁorsteinn was cold towards the Norwegian, and in the sum-
mer he left, and now he is out of the story’

(13)

ﬁeir eru vanir at halda til móts vi› hƒf›ingjana

‘They are accustomed to hold a(-)gainst towards chieftains-the’
‘They are accustomed to offer resistance to the rulers’

(14)

Í hellinum var féván mikil, ok kaupmenninir ré›u til
ok gengu hellinn

‘In cave-the was treasure-hope great, and merchants-the set
about and walked cave-the’
‘There was great hope of finding treasure in the cave, and the
merchants had a go and explored the cave’

(15)

ﬁeir lƒg›u saman skipin

‘They laid together ships-the’
‘They laid the ships alongside each other’

Morphology and syntax

3.2 Pronoun inflexions and their function

Pronouns are sometimes defined as words that stand in place of nouns.
A more accurate definition is that they are words that occupy the same
position in sentences as noun phrases. What this means is that in Eng-
lish, for example, noun phrases such as (1)

the old man with the long

white beard, (2) my colleague, who works at the university, (3) all the
people, (4) not the tiniest little bit are reducible to single words like
(1)

he, (2) she, (3) everyone, (4) none. Of course, a noun phrase will

often consist of just one word, e.g.

John, moonlight, and these too

may be replaced by pronouns (

he, it), but a definition of pronoun that

looks no further than this is clearly inadequate.

Many pronouns in addition to replacing noun phrases may be used

adjectivally, i.e. as modifiers of noun phrases, like English

this and

some in this man, some particularly interesting ideas. Although argu-
ably function should determine word class, it is impractical in a basic
learners’ grammar such as this to operate with both pronominal and
adjectival

this, some etc. Section 3.2 therefore deals with words that

regularly function as pronouns, irrespective of how else they may be
used.

The personal pronouns

I, you, he, she, it, we, they, together with the

demonstratives

this, that, the indefinites some, any, the negatives no

one, nothing, none and the interrogatives who, what, are among the
most commonly occurring words in English, and the same is true of
their Old Norse equivalents. It is therefore clearly essential to learn
the (often somewhat idiosyncratic) inflexions of these words as
quickly as possible.

Since pronouns occupy the same position in sentences as noun

phrases, it is no surprise to find that, like nouns, they are inflected for
number and case in Old Norse, and that the function of the inflexions
is in general the same as for nouns (cf. 3.1.1, 3.1.2). In addition, be-
cause pronouns ‘stand for’, i.e. take their reference from, noun phrases,
many of them are also inflected for gender. Personal pronouns distin-
guish ‘person’, that is, the choice of pronoun depends on the perspec-
tive from which the participants in a situation are viewed. Old Norse,
like English, has a three-way contrast: 1st person, in which a speaker
or writer refers to him/herself (English

I) or a group of which s/he is a

part (Eng.

we), 2nd person, in which a speaker/writer refers to a person

Pronoun inflexions and their function

or persons s/he is addressing (Eng.

you, sg. or pl.), 3rd person, in which

a person or persons other than the speaker/writer him/herself or the
one/those s/he is addressing are referred to (Eng.

he, she, it, they).

3.2.1 Personal pronouns: form

1st person: ‘I [sg.]’, ‘we two [dual]’, ‘we [pl.]’

nom.

Sg. ek

Dual vit

Pl. vér

acc.

mik

ok(k)r

oss

gen.

mín

okkar

vár

dat.

mér

ok(k)r

oss

2nd person: ‘you [sg.]’, ‘you two [dual]’, ‘you [pl.]’

nom.

Sg. ﬂú

Dual (ﬂ)it

Pl. (ﬂ)ér

acc.

ﬂik

yk(k)r

y›r

gen.

ﬂín

ykkar

y›(v)ar

dat.

ﬂér

yk(k)r

y›r

3rd person singular: ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’

nom.

hann

hon

ﬂat

acc.

hann

hana

ﬂat

gen.

hans

hennar

ﬂess

dat.

honum

henni

ﬂ(v)í

3rd person plural: ‘they’

nom.

m. ﬂeir

f. ﬂær

n. ﬂau

acc.

ﬂá

ﬂær

ﬂau

gen.

ﬂeir(r)a

dat.

ﬂeim

Morphology and syntax

Reflexive, 3rd person only: ‘-self’

nom.

—

acc.

sik

gen.

sín

dat.

sér

Various features of these paradigms are worthy of note.
(1) No distinction of gender is found in the first and second person,

or in the third person reflexive. Observe, though, that, unlike English,
Old Norse employs a masculine, feminine or neuter form of ‘they’
depending on the gender of the entity referred to. Where more than
one gender is involved, the neuter plural is used.

(2) The three-way distinction: singular (used of one entity) — dual

(used of two) — plural (used of more than two), occurs only in the
first and second person.

(3) A separate reflexive pronoun is found only in the third person.

The same forms are used whether the entity referred to by the pronoun
is singular or plural, masculine, feminine or neuter. The only distinc-
tion made is of case, and then only between accusative, genitive and
dative. No nominative form exists since reflexives are normally
coreferential with (i.e. refer to the same entity as) the subject (cf.
English:

John hurt himself, but not *heself hurt John). In the first and

second person, the accusative, genitive and dative forms function both
as non-reflexives and reflexives (thus

mik, for example, means ‘me’

or ‘myself’,

y›r ‘you [pl.]’ or ‘yourselves’).

Beyond this, the student will observe certain regularities in the para-

digms, and similarities with other inflexions. The accusative, genitive
and dative of the first and second person singular and of the reflexive
vary only in the initial consonant. There is also minimal variation be-
tween the first and second person dual. First and second person dual
and plural do not distinguish accusative and dative, and all have a
genitive ending in -

r (-ar except for vár). The third person endings,

especially in the singular, will be seen to correspond quite closely to
those of the suffixed definite article, while the masculine and neuter
genitive singular in -

s and the feminine in -ar, the nominative masculine

and nominative/accusative feminine plural in -

r, the accusative mas-

culine plural in a vowel, the genitive plural in -

a and the dative plural

in -

m show a marked similarity to noun inflexions as well. Finally, it

Pronoun inflexions and their function

should be noted that the nominative forms

ek and ﬂú can sometimes

be found suffixed to the verb, in which case

ek loses its vowel (e.g.

haf›ak < haf›a ek ‘I had’, kannk < kann ek ‘I can’), while the ﬂ of ﬂú
undergoes partial or complete assimilation with the immediately pre-
ceding consonant (e.g.

heyr›u < heyr ﬂú ‘hear you [i.e. listen!]’, fórtu

fórt ﬂú ‘you went’, seldu < sel ﬂú ‘hand you [i.e. hand over!]’).

Occasionally other of the personal pronoun forms may be suffixed in
this way, but the student is unlikely to come across them in straight-
forward prose texts.

3.2.2 Demonstrative pronouns: form

sá ‘that’, ‘those’

Sg.

nom.

sá

sú

ﬂat

acc.

ﬂann

ﬂá

ﬂat

gen.

ﬂess

ﬂeir(r)ar

ﬂess

dat.

ﬂeim

ﬂeir(r)i

ﬂ(v)í

Pl.

nom.

ﬂeir

ﬂær

ﬂau

acc.

ﬂá

ﬂær

ﬂau

gen.

ﬂeir(r)a

dat.

ﬂeim

The neuter singular and all the plural forms of this pronoun will be

seen to be identical with those of the personal pronoun, third person,
given in 3.2.1. In fact we are dealing with one and the same word. The
change in meaning from, for example, ‘those female beings’ or ‘those
feminine objects’ to ‘they [f.]’ is very small. Indeed, the same develop-
ment can be observed in many languages (French

il ‘he’, elle ‘she’, for

example, come from the Latin pronoun

ille ‘that’), and on occasion

Old Norse

sá, sú are found in place of hann, hon.

Although there is considerable irregularity in the paradigm, com-

pare the acc., gen., dat. m. sg. endings -

nn, -ss, -m and the acc., gen.,

dat. f. sg. -

á, -ar, -i with those of the corresponding forms of the suf-

fixed definite article (3.1.9) and of

hinn immediately below.

Morphology and syntax

hinn ‘that’ ‘the other’, ‘those’ ‘the others’

Sg.

nom.

hinn

hin

hitt

acc.

hinn

hina

hitt

gen.

hins

hinnar

hins

dat.

hinum

hinni

hinu

Pl.

nom.

hinir

hinar

hin

acc.

hina

hinar

hin

gen.

hinna

dat.

hinum

The student will observe the close similarity between the forms of

this pronoun and those of the suffixed definite article (though note the
-

tt in the nom./acc. n. sg.). There is in fact a strong likelihood that the

suffixed article is a reduced form of

hinn. Not only does the similarity

of form suggest this, the development: demonstrative pronoun > defi-
nite article is quite widely attested (cf., for example, French

le, la —

il, elle, though by a different route — from Latin ille ‘that’). On

the relationship between

hinn and (h)inn, the free-standing definite

article of Old Norse, see 3.3.5.

sjá, ﬂessi ‘this’, ‘these’

Sg. nom.

sjá/ﬂessi

ﬂetta

acc.

ﬂenna

ﬂessa

ﬂetta

gen.

ﬂessa

ﬂessar/ﬂessar(r)ar ﬂessa

dat.

ﬂessum/ﬂeima

ﬂessi/ﬂessar(r)i

ﬂessu/ﬂvísa

Pl.

nom.

ﬂessir

ﬂessar

ﬂessi

acc.

ﬂessa

ﬂessar

ﬂessi

gen.

ﬂessa/ﬂessar(r)a ﬂessa/ﬂessar(r)a

ﬂessa/ﬂessar(r)a

dat.

ﬂessum

In this paradigm the number of alternative forms is noteworthy, but

few are likely to cause problems of recognition. The nominative

Pronoun inflexions and their function

singulars

sjá and ﬂessi are both common, but dat. m. sg. ﬂeima and

dat. n. sg.

ﬂvísa are much less so. The genitive and dative feminine

singular and the genitive plural can be thought of as

ﬂessar, ﬂessi,

ﬂessa respectively, basic forms which are sometimes expanded by suf-
fixes (

ﬂessar-(r)ar, ﬂessa-r(r)a), or infixes (ﬂess-ar(r)-i). Although

the forms of this pronoun may appear anomalous, similarities with
other paradigms can still be found. The endings of the plural in par-
ticular are very close to those of

hinn (above), and even in the singular

we notice the characteristic -

a and -ar endings in the feminine accusa-

tive and genitive, and -

um, -i, -u in the masculine, feminine and neuter

dative respectively. Some of the remaining forms also show charac-
teristic features, though not in the endings — observe the

n, t and s of

acc. m.

-nn-, nom./acc. n. -tt- and gen. m. and n. -ss-.

3.2.3 Indefinite pronouns: form

By far the most common indefinite pronoun in Old Norse is

nƒkkurr

(in some texts with

o for ƒ: nokkurr, nokkut, etc.) ‘some(one/thing)’

‘any(one/thing)’ ‘(a) certain’. Its endings are almost identical to those
of a strong adjective (see 3.3.4), and very close to those of

hinn (above).

The difference between the inflexions of

nƒkkurr and hinn is largely

determined by the final consonant of the root: the

n of hin- assimilates

a following

r, and so we get forms like nom. m. sg. hinn, dat. f. sg.

hinni, gen. pl. hinna (instead of *hinr, *hinri, *hinra).

Sg.

nom.

nƒkkurr

nƒkkur

nƒkkut

acc.

nƒkkurn

nƒkkura

nƒkkut

gen.

nƒkkurs

nƒkkurrar

nƒkkurs

dat.

nƒkkurum

nƒkkurri

nƒkkuru

Pl.

nom.

nƒkkurir

nƒkkurar

nƒkkur

acc.

nƒkkura

nƒkkurar

nƒkkur

gen.

nƒkkurra

dat.

nƒkkurum

Morphology and syntax

In the oldest sources many of the forms of this pronoun appear with

root

nakkvar-.

Other indefinite pronouns are

einnhverr ‘some(one/thing)’, and sumr

‘some’. The former consists of an invariable

ein-, except in the

nom./acc. m. and n. sg. (

einn-, eitt- respectively), and occasionally the

gen. m. and n. sg. (

eins-), + hverr, the inflexions of which are de-

scribed below. The latter inflects like a strong adjective (see 3.3.4).

3.2.4 Negative pronouns: form

Of the sundry negative pronouns of Old Norse the only one the learner
will encounter regularly is

engi ‘no one’ ‘nothing’ ‘none’ ‘no’. The

various forms of the other negatives,

manngi ‘no one’, vættki ‘nothing’,

hvárigr or hvárgi ‘neither’, will, when met with, be well enough under-
stood from the glosses and examples given in Old Norse dictionaries.

Sg.

nom.

engi

ekki

acc.

engan/engi

enga

ekki

gen.

enskis

engrar

enskis

dat.

engum

engri

engu

Pl.

nom.

engir

engar

engi

acc.

enga

engar

engi

gen.

engra

dat.

engum

The paradigm presented here gives the most common forms of

engi.

A complete list of attested forms will be found in Noreen 1923 (p. 323).
Virtually all of these are easily deducible, however, as long as it is
known (1) that the root of the word may be

eing- or øng- as well as

eng-, and (2) that -v- may be added before endings beginning with -a
(e.g. nom./acc. f. pl.

øngvar, engvar) and before the -ir of the nom. m.

pl. (e.g.

øngvir, engvir).

The inflexions of

engi present a familiar enough pattern (observe,

however, nom./acc. n. sg.

ekki, from *eitt-ki < *eitt-gi). The student

Pronoun inflexions and their function

should compare the endings given above with those of

hinn and

nƒkkurr, especially the latter, and make a note of where they coincide.
Only forms peculiar to

engi need be learnt specially.

3.2.5 Interrogative and distributive pronouns: form

The two principal pronouns in this category are

hverr ‘who’ ‘what’

‘which’, ‘each’ ‘every’, and

hvárr ‘which of two’, ‘each of two’ (sg.),

‘which of two groups’, ‘each of two groups’ (pl.). With the exception
of the acc. m. sg. forms,

hvern and hvárn, both decline like strong

adjectives (see 3.3.4). In common with some adjectives

hverr inserts

-j- between root and endings beginning with -a or -u; hvárr does not.

For ease of overview, the complete paradigm of

hverr is now given.

Sg.

nom.

hverr

hver

hvert

acc.

hvern

hverja

hvert

gen.

hvers

hverrar

hvers

dat.

hverjum

hverri

hverju

Pl.

nom.

hverir

hverjar

hver

acc.

hverja

hverjar

hver

gen.

hverra

dat.

hverjum

In addition to

hverr and hvárr we have hvat ‘what’, ‘each (thing)’

‘every(thing)’,

hvatki ‘each thing’, and hvatvetna ‘everything’. None

of these occurs with anything like a complete set of forms; indeed,
apart from odd relics of a masculine equivalent of

hvat, they are neuter

singular only. Even then, except in the case of

hvatvetna (gen.

hversvetna, dat. hvívetna), the paradigms are defective. For although
hvess and hví are often quoted as the genitive and dative form of hvat,
they tend to function as separate words (

hví, for example, occurs mostly

in the sense ‘why?’). And while a genitive

hves(s)kis and dative hvígi

of neuter singular

hvatki are indeed found, the meaning, ‘whatsoever’,

is somewhat removed from that of

hvatki.

Morphology and syntax

3.2.1/3.2.2/3.2.3/3.2.4/3.2.5 Personal pronouns: form/Demonstrative
pronouns: form/Indefinite pronouns: form/Negative pronouns:
form/Interrogative and distributive pronouns: form — Exercise

1. Which of the personal pronouns are inflected for gender?
2. Which of the personal pronouns distinguish three numbers (singu-

lar, dual and plural)?

3. Give the forms of the 3rd person reflexive pronoun and explain

why there is no nominative.

4. What regularities can be observed in the forms of the personal

pronouns?

5. What similarities are there between the endings of

hinn and sjá/

ﬂessi?

6. In what respects do the endings of

hinn, nƒkkurr and engi differ?

7. Give the full paradigm of

hvárr and compare its endings with those

hverr.

8. In what sense is the paradigm of

hvat defective?

3.2.6 Examples of pronoun usage

As was done for nouns, examples will now be given of pronouns in
function. With the wide range of pronominal words and forms that
exists, nothing like a comprehensive survey can be provided; the aim
is rather to illustrate typical usage. The exemplification follows the
same pattern as for nouns (see the preamble on p. 31). Note in particu-
lar that the ending or word-form being illustrated is printed in bold
type. Compare the endings and word-forms used with those set out
and discussed on pp. 61–67. Observe, too, the differences between
Old Norse and English phraseology and sentence formation. Defini-
tions of basic concepts that have already been given are not repeated;
if in doubt, the student should consult the individual commentaries
that accompany each of the examples of noun function.

(1)

Eigi sag›a ek ﬂér ﬂat
‘Not said I to-you that’
‘I did not tell you that’

Pronoun inflexions and their function

Ek (1st person sg. nom.) is the subject; ‘I’ is the agent or ‘performer’ of the
action and the first noun phrase in the sentence.

ﬁér (2nd sg. dat.) is the indirect

object; ‘you’ is the beneficiary of the action and the second noun phrase.

ﬁat

(3rd. sg. n. acc.) is the direct object, the goal of the action (i.e. what is said)
and the third noun phrase.

(2)

ﬁá skutu ﬂeir spjótum inn at ﬂeim
‘Then they threw spears in at them’

The subject is

ﬂeir (3rd pl. m. nom.), the agent and first noun phrase in the

sentence.

ﬁeim (3rd pl. dat.) does not function here as a noun phrase, but is

part of the preposition phrase

at ﬂeim, in which the pronoun is governed (i.e.

has its case determined) by the preposition

at (see 3.7, 3.7.3).

(3)

Viltu nƒkkut li›sinni okkr veita?
‘Will-you any help to-us-two give?’
‘Will you give us two any help?’

The subject is -

tu (2nd sg. nom., suffixed to the verb); it is the agent and first

noun phrase in the sentence.

Nƒkkut is part of the direct object. The second

noun phrase and the goal of the action consists of the noun

li›sinni (acc. n.

sg.) modified by the pronoun

nƒkkut (which since it appears here in the role of

modifier functions adjectivally; see 3.2). As a modifier

nƒkkut appears in the

same case (acc.), gender (n.) and number (sg.) as its head word (

li›sinni). This

formal relationship between the two (whereby the head word determines the
form of its modifier) is known as grammatical agreement or concord and is a
regular phenomenon in Old Norse (see 3.3.1).

Okkr (1st dual dat.) is the indirect

object; it denotes the beneficiary of the action and is the third noun phrase in
the sentence.

(4)

ﬁórhildr lag›i yfir hann skikkjuna, ok gekk hann út á me›al

ﬂeira

‘ﬁórhildr put the cloak over him, and he went out between

them’

This example consists of two sentences.

Hann (3rd sg. m. acc.) in sentence 1

is part of the preposition phrase

yfir hann, and its case is determined by the

preposition

yfir (see 3.7, 3.7.4). Hann (3rd sg. m. nom.) in sentence 2 is sub-

ject, the first noun phrase and the agent.

ﬁeira (3rd pl. gen.) is part of the

preposition phrase

me›al ﬂeira, and its case is determined by the preposition

me›al (see 3.7.2).

Morphology and syntax

(5)

Hefn ﬂú vár, en vér skulum ﬂín, ef vér lifum eptir
‘Avenge you us, but we shall you, if we live afterwards’
‘Avenge us, and we shall (avenge) you, if we survive’

This example consists of three sentences.

ﬁú (2nd sg. nom.) in sentence 1 is

the subject (of an imperative verb, cf. 3.6.3, 3.6.5.1), the first noun phrase and
the agent;

vár (1st pl. gen.) is the direct object of the verb (hefn) and the

second noun phrase.

Vér (1st pl. nom.) in sentence 2 is subject, the first noun

phrase and agent (of the understood verb

hefna); ﬂín (2nd sg. gen.) is the

direct object of the (understood) verb and the second noun phrase.

Vér (1st pl.

nom.) in sentence 3 is subject, not so much agent here, rather the ‘experiencer’,
denoting those who (may) experience survival.

(6)

ﬁau væntu sér af honum nƒkkurs trausts
‘They expected for-self of him some support’
‘They expected (for themselves) some support from him’

ﬁau (3rd pl. n. nom., referring to persons of more than one gender) is subject,
the first noun phrase and the experiencer.

Sér (refl. dat.) is the indirect object,

the second noun phrase and the intended beneficiary; it is coreferential with
the subject (i.e. both subject and indirect object refer to the same entity; see
3.2.1).

Honum (3rd sg. m. dat.) is part of the preposition phrase af honum, and

its case is determined by the preposition

af (see 3.7.3). Nƒkkurs is part of the

direct object: the third noun phrase, denoting what is experienced (the goal of
the experiencing), consists of the noun

trausts (gen. n. sg.) modified by the

pronoun

nƒkkurs, which has the same case, gender and number as its head

word (see example (3) above).

(7)

ﬁví skaltu heita mér, at koma aptr til mín at ƒ›ru hausti

‘That shall-you promise to-me, to come back to me at second
autumn’
‘You must promise me to come back to me next autumn’

ﬁví (3rd sg. n. dat.) is the anticipatory direct object: the thing promised is ‘to
come back . . . ’, but the infinitive clause — the equivalent of a noun phrase —
is postponed and its place filled by the pronoun

ﬂví. The unmarked position

for the direct object would be somewhere after the subject and the finite verb
(

skaltu), but here it has been moved to the front of the sentence for emphasis.

The subject is -

tu (2nd sg. nom., suffixed to the verb); it is the agent, and —

the fronted

ﬂví apart — the first noun phrase in the sentence. Mér (1st sg. dat.)

is the indirect object, the beneficiary (the person to whom the promise is made),
and the second or third noun phrase.

Mín (1st sg. gen.) is part of the preposi-

tion phrase

til mín, and its case is governed by the preposition til (see 3.7.2).

Pronoun inflexions and their function

(8)

Taki› hana ok haldi› henni
‘Take her and hold her’

This example contains two sentences, each with its finite verb in the impera-
tive (‘take!’, ‘hold!’; see (5) above, but also 3.6.3). The subject is left unex-
pressed, as generally happens with imperatives in English too.

Hana and henni

(3rd sg. f. acc. and dat. respectively) are both direct objects, the goals of the
actions; their case is determined by the verb they are object of (

taka ‘take’

normally has a direct object in the accusative,

halda in the sense ‘hold fast’

‘restrain’ has its direct object in the dative).

(9)

Megu› ﬂér vel bí›a ﬂess, er eldrinn vinnr ﬂá
‘Can you well await that, that fire-the overcomes them’
‘You can easily wait for the fire to overcome them’

This example consists of two sentences.

ﬁér (2nd pl. nom.) is the subject of

sentence 1, the agent and the first noun phrase.

ﬁess (3rd sg. n. gen.) is the

anticipatory direct object (see (7) above): the thing being waited for is ‘that
the fire overcomes them’, but this dependent sentence — the equivalent of a
noun phrase — is postponed and its placed filled by the pronoun

ﬂess. ﬁá is

the direct object of (the dependent) sentence 2, the goal of the ‘action’ and the
second noun phrase (the first — the subject — being

eldrinn).

(10)

ﬁær hvíla sik ﬂar nƒkkurar nætr
‘They rest self there some nights’
‘They rest themselves there for a few nights’

ﬁær (3rd pl. f. nom., referring to women) is subject, the first noun phrase in
the sentence and the agent.

Sik (refl. acc.) is the direct object, the goal of the

action and the second noun phrase; it is coreferential with the subject (see (6)
above).

Nƒkkurar is part of the adverbial phrase nƒkkurar nætr (acc. f. pl.),

which expresses duration of time;

nƒkkurar modifies the head word nætr, and

so appears in the same case, gender and number.

(11)

Hvers ﬂykkir y›r sá ver›r, er ﬂetta rá› gaf til?

‘Of-what seems to-you that-man worthy who this advice gave
towards [a solution of the problem]?’
‘What do you think the man who proffered this advice
deserves?’

This example consists of an interrogative sentence, followed by an elliptical
infinitive clause (3.9.5.2) and a dependent sentence.

Hvers (gen. n. sg.) is an

interrogative pronoun, and as such is moved out of an unmarked position after

Morphology and syntax

ver›r (sá er ver›r X ‘that person is worthy of X’) to the front of the sentence
(cf. the identical movement in English); its case is determined by the adjec-
tive

ver›r (cf. English worthy/deserving of something), and its neuter gender

by the fact that it does not refer to anything of specifically masculine or femi-
nine gender. In traditional analysis

y›r (2nd pl. dat., but used here as a singular

honorific, like French

vous — the person being addressed is the king) would

be classed as the indirect object (the recipient or experiencer of the ‘seeming’,
cf. ‘to-you’), but recently claims have been made for the existence of a class
of ‘oblique’ (i.e. non-nominative) subjects into which

y›r here would fall

(note that with

ﬂyk(k)ir ‘seems’ the person to whom something seems is

normally always the first noun phrase in the sentence; see further 3.9.3).

Sá

(nom. m. sg.) is the subject of the elliptical infinitive clause (

sá [vera] ver›r

‘that man [to be] worthy’) — what the clause is about.

ﬁetta rá› (acc. n. sg.),

with

ﬂetta modifying rá›, is the direct object of the dependent sentence, the

goal of the action (the words refer to the thing given or proffered); it is the
only noun phrase in the sentence, the subject being subsumed into the relative
particle or complementiser

er, which is best regarded as being outside the

sentence (see 3.8, 3.8.2.1).

(12)

Hin vistin fœ›ir likaminn, sjá fœ›ir sálina
‘That sustenance feeds the body, this feeds the soul’

This example consists of two sentences. In sentence 1,

hin vistin (nom. f. sg.),

with

hin modifying vist-in (noun + def. art.), is the subject; it is the ‘performer’

of the action and the first noun phrase. In sentence 2,

sjá (nom. f. sg.) is also

the subject, fulfilling on its own the same function as

hin vistin in sentence 1.

Notice how

hin contrasts with sjá: ‘that other one’ as opposed to ‘this one’.

(13)

Hon vir›i ﬂenna meira en hinn
‘She valued this more than that’
‘She held this one in higher esteem than the other’

Hon (3rd sg. f. nom.) is the subject, the agent and the first noun phrase in the
sentence.

ﬁenna (acc. m. sg., referring to an entity — person, animal or object

— of masculine gender) is the direct object (what is valued) and the second
noun phrase.

Hinn (acc. m. sg., likewise referring to an entity of masculine

gender) is part of a comparative phrase; this can be understood as ‘more than
[she valued] the other’, and

hinn taken as a direct object too.

(14)

Nú ver›r hann varr ﬂessara tí›inda
‘Now becomes he aware of-these tidings’
‘Now he becomes aware of these events’

Pronoun inflexions and their function

Hann (3rd sg. m. nom.) is the subject, not the agent here but the experiencer,
and the first noun phrase in the sentence. The noun phrase

ﬂessara tí›inda

(gen. pl.), with

ﬂessara modifying tí›inda, has its case determined by the

adjective

varr (cf. English aware of something).

(15)

Sumir váru drepnir ok sumir fl‡›u ór landi
‘Some were killed and some fled from (the) country’

This example consists of two sentences, in both of which

sumir (nom. m. pl.)

is subject, the first noun phrase and, in sentence 2, the agent. In sentence 1
with its passive verb phrase (

váru drepnir ‘were killed’, see 3.6.4) the subject

is the recipient or goal of the action (a typical feature of passive construc-
tions).

(16)

Engi er svá lítill drykkjuma›r, at . . .
‘None is so little drinking-man that . . . ’
‘No one is so feeble a drinker that . . . ’

Engi (nom. m. sg.) is the subject (the X in an X is Y construction, see 3.1.5,
sentence 1) and the first noun phrase in the sentence.

(17)

Hon svarar engu
‘She answers nothing’

Hon (3rd sg. f. nom.) is subject, the agent and first noun phrase in the sen-
tence.

Engu (dat. n. sg.) can be construed as the direct object of svarar (what

is answered), but in origin it probably had instrumental sense (the idea of
answering with something, cf. 3.1.5, sentence 20).

(18)

Engi skip skulu sigla burt
‘No ships shall sail away’

Engi skip (nom. n. pl.), with engi modifying skip, is subject, the (potential)
‘performer’ of the action and the only noun phrase in the sentence.

(19)

Hverju skal launa kvæ›it?
‘With-what shall reward poem-the?’
‘What shall one reward the poem with?’

Hverju (dat. n. sg.) as an interrogative pronoun is moved out of an unmarked
position after the verb

launa (X launar kvæ›it Y, where Y represents the dative

Morphology and syntax

phrase) and fronted (cf. (11) above); the sense is instrumental, hence the use
of the dative. It will be observed that (19) is without a subject (i.e. there is no
element that corresponds to

X in the abstraction above); although rare in

English, subjectless sentences are a regular feature of Old Norse (see 3.9.3).

(20)

Hvárr ykkar hefir drepit d‡rit?
‘Which (of the two) of you two has killed the animal?’

Hvárr (nom. m. sg.) is an interrogative pronoun (‘which of two?’), but unlike
hverju in the preceding example it is the subject of its sentence and thus stands
in its unmarked position as the first noun phrase (cf.

X hefir drepit d‡rit where

X is the agent). Ykkar (2nd dual gen.) has partitive sense: ‘you two’ is the
whole of which one is the part (cf. English:

five of the students (five = part,

students = whole), the south of the country (the south = part, country = whole)).

(21)

Hvat s‡nisk ﬂér rá›?
‘What shows-

sk to-you plan?’

‘What seems to you a good plan/advisable?’

Hvat (nom. n. sg.) is an interrogative pronoun; traditionally it would be
analysed as subject and

ﬂér as indirect object (the recipient or experiencer of

the ‘seeming’), but more recent approaches (cf. (11) above) would class

ﬂér

as (an oblique) subject and

hvat as direct object (notwithstanding the latter is

nominative, cf. 3.1.2 and 3.1.5, sentences 1 and 5), in which case the
interrogative must be deemed to have moved from its unmarked position to
the front of the sentence (cf.

mér s‡nisk ﬂat rá› ‘to-me shows-sk that plan [i.e.

that seems to me advisable/I think that advisable]’, where

ﬂat (nom.) is the

putative object). Note that the pronoun

hvat normally only occurs in the

nominative and accusative neuter singular (cf. 3.2.5).

(22)

Nú forvitnar mik at vita, hverja ek hefi hér fóstrat, e›r hverrar

ættar ﬂit eru›
‘Now interests me to know whom I have here fostered, or of-
what family you-two are’
‘Now I am curious to know whom I have been fostering here,
or what family you two belong to’

This example consists of three sentences and an infinitive clause (

at vita).

Sentence 1 is what is traditionally called ‘impersonal’, by which is meant that
it has no nominative subject; such an analysis would class

mik (1st sg. acc.) as

direct object. More recent approaches would see

mik as an oblique subject (cf.

Pronoun inflexions and their function

(11) and (21) above), the experiencer and first (and only) noun phrase.

Hverja

(acc. m. pl.) in sentence 2 is the direct object — the goal of the action — but
since it takes the form of an interrogative pronoun, it is fronted from its un-
marked position after subject and finite or non-finite verb (cf.

ek hefi fóstrat

hann or ek hefi hann fóstrat). Ek (1st sg. nom.) is the subject of sentence 2, the
agent and, apart from the fronted interrogative, the first noun phrase. In

hverrar

ættar (gen. f. sg.) in sentence 3, with hverrar modifying ættar and the whole
phrase fronted because of the presence of the interrogative, the genitive has a
defining or connective sense (note that once again the Old Norse genitive can
correspond to English

of). ﬁit (2nd dual nom.) is the subject: the X of an X is

Y construction, and, the fronted interrogative apart, the first noun phrase.

(23)

Hann er hverjum manni betr vígr
‘He is than-every man better able-to-fight’
‘He is a more able fighter than anyone else’

Hann (3rd sg. m. nom.) is subject: the X of an X is Y construction and the first
noun phrase.

Hverjum manni (dat. m. sg.), with hverjum modifying manni, is

the second proposition in a comparative construction — the proposition de-
noting the entity with which the comparison is made (cf. 3.1.5, sentence 21);
the dative phrase is the equivalent of the noun phrase

X (in whatever case is

appropriate) that follows

en ‘than’ in a comparative adjective + en construc-

tion (e.g.

fleiri en X ‘more than X’).

(24)

ﬁá skyldu ein manngjƒld koma fyrir hvern hinna

‘Then should single compensation come for each of-the-
others’
‘Then there was to be single compensation for each of the
others’

Hvern (acc. m. sg.) does not function here as a noun phrase, but is part of the
preposition phrase

fyrir hvern, and its case is determined by the preposition

fyrir (see 3.7.4). Hinna (gen. pl.) has partitive sense: ‘the others’ is the whole
of which each individual is a part (cf. (20) above).

Morphology and syntax

3.2.6 Examples of pronoun usage — Exercise

1. What is the principal grammatical function of pronouns?
2. What does it mean that pronouns may be used ‘adjectivally’? Give

two Old Norse examples of such usage.

3. Explain the difference between singular, dual and plural function.

Give one example of each from Old Norse.

4. How are the reflexive forms

sik, sín, sér used?

ﬁau can refer to a plural entity of neuter gender. What else may it
refer to?

6. What is the difference in function between

hann/hon on the one

hand and

sá/sú on the other?

7. In what sense is the pronoun

hinn contrastive? Give two examples

of the way in which it is used.

8. What is the difference in meaning between

hverr and hvárr?

9. Give the case and, where appropriate, the gender and number of

the pronouns (printed in bold) in the following sentences, and ex-
plain their syntactic function and semantic role:

(a) Váru ﬂeir me› honum ﬂann vetr

‘They were with him that winter’

(b) Sel mér fé nƒkkut at láni

‘Give me some money on loan’

‘No deceit is to accompany this’

(d) Hverr y›ar skal fá okkr eyri silfrs

‘Each of you is to give us two an ounce of silver’

(e) Hann vildi hefna sín

‘He wanted to avenge himself’

Adjective inflexions and their function

3.3 Adjective inflexions and their function

The principal function of adjectives is to modify nouns, and to a lesser
extent pronouns. Adjectives may occur as part of a noun phrase —
attributive function — or as the complement of a noun phrase —
predicative function. English examples, using the adjective

yellow,

are:

a yellow car or the yellow car (attributive), and the car is yellow

he painted the car yellow (predicative). In addition, adjectives are

sometimes used in place of nouns, as in English

the old and the new or

good and evil. The fact that nouns, pronouns and adjectives all occur
in noun phrases either alone or in conjunction with other words indi-
cates that the three word classes have much in common.

Like nouns and pronouns, adjectives in Old Norse are inflected for

number and case. In common with many but not all pronouns, they are
also inflected for gender. In addition they are inflected for definite-
ness and degree. This variety of adjectival inflexion means it is
particularly important for the student to be able to distinguish
one form from another and understand what function any par-
ticular form has.

3.3.1 Number, case and gender

Definitions and exemplification of number, case and gender have been
given in 3.1.1, 3.1.2 and 3.1.3. What the student needs to grasp about
adjectival inflexion for these categories is that it is determined by the
noun or pronoun being modified by the adjective. That is to say, there
is a formal relationship between the two whereby the form of the
noun/pronoun requires a corresponding form of the adjective. E.g.

gó›r

(nom. m. sg.) is the appropriate form of ‘good’ when modifying

ma›r

(nom. m. sg.),

gó› (nom. f. sg.) when modifying kona (nom. f. sg.),

gott (nom./acc. n. sg.) when modifying skip (nom./acc. n. sg.), gó›ir
(nom. m. pl.) when modifying

menn (nom. m. pl.), etc. This relation-

ship is known as (grammatical) agreement or (grammatical) concord.
It operates more widely than simply between noun/pronoun and
adjective (see especially 3.6.1), but is particularly important in the
noun/pronoun~adjective context because it governs much of adjectival
inflexion in Old Norse. Furthermore, it is very often in the grammatical

Morphology and syntax

agreement between an adjective and a noun that the gender of the
noun is manifested (see 3.1.3).

3.3.2 Definiteness

In Old Norse, as in all Germanic languages originally, there were two
types of adjective inflexion, known traditionally as strong and weak.
We saw (3.1.4) that the terms themselves had no particular signifi-
cance when applied to the noun, and the same is true of the adjective.

The weak adjective shares formal similarities with the weak noun.

In the singular the two have identical endings, and overall, just as with
the nouns, the weak paradigm exhibits much less variety than the strong
(cf. that in the plural weak adjectives end either in -

u (nom., acc.,

gen.) or -

um (dat.)).

In terms of use the weak noun and weak adjective have little in

common. The weak noun, as we have seen, is an inflexional type and
nothing more: a noun is either strong or weak, and remains so, how-
ever it is used. Adjectives can inflect according to both the strong and
the weak pattern. Choice of form depends on function: strong adjec-
tives by and large have indefinite function, weak adjectives definite.

What this means in practice is that strong adjectives chiefly occur in

noun phrases without determiners, e.g. ríkr

konungr ‘a powerful king’,

ma›r gamall ‘an old man’, strendr langar ‘long beaches’ (with attri-
butive

ríkr, gamall and langar); konungr var› rei›r mjƒk ‘the king

became very angry’, fƒgr

er hlí›in ‘beautiful is the hillside’ (with

predicative

rei›r and fƒgr, which belong to different noun phrases from

konungr and hlí›in, cf. English: the king [NP1] became a beggar [NP2];
because of their function, predicative adjectives are almost always
strong — but cf. 3.3.6, sentence 24). Where strong adjectives do appear
in conjunction with determiners, these are usually indefinite, e.g.
nƒkkurri mannligri mynd (dat. f. sg.) ‘any human shape’.

Weak adjectives typically occur in noun phrases with determiners:

the definite article (3.3.5 below), demonstratives (3.2.2) and possessives
(3.3.4 below), the latter two commonly in conjunction with the defi-
nite article, e.g.

hinna ríku konunga (gen. pl.) ‘the powerful kings’,

sjá hinn ungi ma›r ‘this the young man [i.e. this young man]’, ﬂeim
helga

manni (dat. m. sg.) ‘that holy man [i.e. that saint]’, hinn yngsta

Adjective inflexions and their function

son ﬂinn (acc. m. sg.) ‘the youngest son your [i.e. your youngest son]’.
Sometimes where used as an epithet a weak adjective may occur with-
out a determiner, e.g.

Eiríkr rau›i ‘Eiríkr the red’; here the adjective

alone carries the definite sense ‘the red’.

3.3.3 Degree (comparison)

Adjectives in Old Norse, together with adverbs, are inflected for degree.
There are three degrees: positive, comparative and superlative, corre-
sponding in form to English:

big — bigger — biggest. As in English,

the positive degree has no special inflexion, and therefore the form of
an adjective in the positive is simply its root plus the appropriate
inflexion to indicate number, case, gender and definiteness. The com-
parative and superlative degrees are normally marked by the suffixes
-(

a)r, -(a)st respectively; to the superlative suffix is added the appro-

priate strong or weak ending just as in the positive, to the comparative
suffix a limited range of endings that indicate number, case and gender
(see 3.3.4 below). Comparative and superlative forms of the adjective
are thus double-inflected, e.g.

hvass-ar-i (comp. nom. m. sg., f. sg.,

nom./acc./gen. pl.) ‘sharper’,

d‡r-r-a (comp. acc./gen./dat. m. sg.,

n. sg.) ‘dearer’ ‘more precious’,

hvass-ast-ar (sup. strong nom./acc.

f. pl.) ‘sharpest’,

d‡r-st-a (sup. strong acc. f. sg., acc. m. pl., weak

acc./gen./dat. m. sg., nom. f. sg., n. sg.) ‘dearest’ ‘most precious’.

3.3.1/3.3.2/3.3.3 Number, case and gender/Definiteness/Degree —
Exercise

1. For what grammatical categories are adjectives inflected in Old

Norse?

2. What does the term grammatical agreement (or grammatical con-

cord) mean, and how does it apply to the adjective in Old Norse?

3. What governs the choice between strong and weak adjectives in

Old Norse?

4. What does it mean that adjectives are inflected for degree?
5. Analyse the following words into root, comparative or superlative

suffix and grammatical ending:

sterkastir, sœmri, sannara, rei›asti.

Morphology and syntax

3.3.4 Basic adjective inflexions

Just as in the case of noun inflexion (see 3.1.4), it is the basic patterns
the student needs to grasp. Minor variations — to the extent they cause
problems of understanding — can be noted and learnt when they are
encountered.

From 3.3.2 and 3.3.3 above it will be clear that — the comparative

and superlative suffixes and comparative endings apart — there are
two distinct types of adjective inflexion in Old Norse, strong and weak.
Both types, as already observed, inflect for number, case and gender.
With two numbers, four cases and three genders, there is thus a possi-
ble total of twice twenty-four different inflexions. In fact, because the
same form may occur in different parts of the paradigm, the total is
much smaller: fundamentally, there are thirteen different strong ad-
jective forms and just four weak. They are as follows (~ = zero, i.e.
there is no ending, the form consisting of root alone — e.g.

rík ‘pow-

erful’, strong nom. f. sg.; actual paradigms are given in 3.3.9).

Strong masculine

Sg.

nom.

-r

Pl.

nom.

-ir

acc.

-an

acc.

-a

gen.

-s

gen.

-ra

dat.

-um

dat.

-um

Weak masculine

Sg.

nom.

-i

Pl.

nom.

-u

acc.

-a

acc.

-u

gen.

-a

gen.

-u

dat.

-a

dat.

-um

Strong feminine

Sg.

nom.

Pl.

nom.

-ar

acc.

-a

acc.

-ar

gen.

-rar

gen.

-ra

dat.

-ri

dat.

-um

Adjective inflexions and their function

Weak feminine

Sg.

nom.

-a

Pl.

nom.

-u

acc.

-u

acc.

-u

gen.

-u

gen.

-u

dat.

-u

dat.

-um

Strong neuter

Sg.

nom.

-t

Pl.

nom.

acc.

-t

acc.

gen.

-s

gen.

-ra

dat.

-u

dat.

-um

Weak neuter

Sg.

nom.

-a

Pl.

nom.

-u

acc.

-a

acc.

-u

gen.

-a

gen.

-u

dat.

-a

dat.

-um

Certain regularities will be observed in these paradigms.

(1)

The dat. pl. always ends in -

um.

(2)

Apart from the dat., the weak pl. ends in -

u throughout.

(3)

There are no distinct case-forms in the weak sg. except in the
nom. masculine and feminine.

(4)

The strong gen. pl. always ends in -

ra.

(5)

There is no difference between the neuter nom. and acc., sg.
or pl., weak or strong.

(6)

The strong feminine nom. and acc. pl. have the same ending.

(7)

The strong masculine and neuter gen. sg. have the same ending.

As well as observing these regularities, the student will notice that

adjectival and noun inflexion have much in common. Attention has
already been drawn to the complete identity between the singular forms
of weak nouns and adjectives. Other instances where the forms are
identical or closely similar (all in the strong declension bar (10), which
applies to both strong and weak) are as follows.

Morphology and syntax

(1)

Nom. m. sg. in -

(2)

Gen. m. and n. sg. in -

(3)

Nom. f. sg. with zero ending.

(4)

Gen. f. sg. in -

ar (noun), -rar (adj.).

(5)

Nom. m. pl. in vowel +

(6)

Acc. m. pl. in vowel.

(7)

Nom./acc. f. pl. in vowel +

(8)

Nom./acc. n. pl. with zero ending.

(9)

Gen. pl. in -

a (noun), -ra (adj.).

(10)

Dat. pl. in -

um.

The student should further observe the close similarity between the

strong adjectival endings and those of pronouns such as

hinn, nƒkkurr,

engi, hverr (cf. 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5). The similarity becomes even
clearer when the many adjectives with an -

in suffix are added to the

equation and the comparison is extended to certain of the possessive
adjectives and the suffixed definite article (probably a reduced form
of

hinn, cf. 3.2.2).

Adjectives in -

in inflect according to the tables above, but with three

distinct deviations (see the example

kominn, 3.3.9, paradigm 7).

(1) Where the tables show an ending in or beginning with -

r, adjectives

in -

in have -n instead, e.g. -inn (strong nom. m. sg.), -inni (strong dat.

f. sg.). This is because an earlier

r has assimilated to the n (-inn < *-inr,

inni < *-inri, cf. hinn < *hinr, 3.2.3). (2) The n of the suffix disap-

pears in the strong nom./acc. n. sg. ending, giving -

it (the end result of

the development *-

int > *-itt > -it, cf. hitt, nom./acc. n. sg. of hinn

(3.2.2)). (3) The strong acc. m. sg. has the same form as the nom.,
ending in -

inn. It should also be noted that the -i- of the -in suffix is

dropped when the inflexional ending consists of an additional sylla-
ble, except in the strong gen. and dat. f. sg. and the strong gen. pl., e.g.
-

nir (strong nom. m. pl.), -ni (weak nom. m. sg.), -inna (strong gen.

pl.). This is not unlike what happens to the suffixed definite article
(see 3.1.9), although the pattern is not wholly identical. Most two-
syllable adjectives, in fact, drop the unstressed vowel of the second
syllable according to the pattern of those in -

in. A great many of these

have an -

al, -il, or -ul suffix (see the example gamall, 3.3.9, paradigm 8),

and, just as with the

n of -in, the immediately following r of the in-

flexional endings is assimilated to the

l, giving -ll(-) instead of the

expected *-

lr(-), e.g. -all (strong nom. m. sg.), -allar (strong gen. f. sg.).

Adjective inflexions and their function

The possessive adjectives of the first and second person and the

third person reflexive possessive (i.e., words corresponding to English
‘my’, ‘our’, etc. and, with pronominal function, ‘mine’, ‘ours’, etc.)
inflect according to one or other of the strong adjective patterns just
discussed.

Minn ‘my’ (see 3.3.9, paradigm 21), ﬂinn ‘your [sg.]’, sinn

‘his/her/its/their own’ go for the most part like adjectives in -

in (but

without loss of the

i at any point since in the possessives it is part of

the root syllable). It is worth noting, however, that in having the nom./
acc. n. sg. forms

mitt, ﬂitt, sitt, they parallel even more closely the

paradigm of the pronoun

hinn, the only difference between the two

being that the root vowel of the possessives is long before everything
except a geminate consonant, e.g.

minn (nom. m. sg.), míns (gen. m.

or n. sg.).

Várr ‘our [pl.]’ is inflected according to the strong pattern

of the tables above, except that, as with certain pronouns, the acc. m.
sg. ends in -

n (várn). Okkarr ‘our [dual]’, ykkarr ‘your [dual]’ and

y›(v)arr ‘your [pl.]’ parallel várr (acc. m. sg. okkarn, ykkarn, y›(v)arn),
but as two-syllable words drop the unstressed vowel of the second
syllable according to the pattern of the two-syllable adjectives dis-
cussed above (giving, for example, acc. f. sg.

okkra, ykkra, y›ra).

It remains to list the adjective endings that follow the comparative

suffix.

Masculine

Sg.

nom.

-i

Pl.

nom.

-i

acc.

-a

acc.

-i

gen.

-a

gen.

-i

dat.

-a

dat.

-um

Feminine

Sg.

nom.

-i

Pl.

nom.

-i

acc.

-i

acc.

-i

gen.

-i

gen.

-i

dat.

-i

dat.

-um

Morphology and syntax

Neuter

Sg.

nom.

-a

Pl.

nom.

-i

acc.

-a

acc.

-i

gen.

-a

gen.

-i

dat.

-a

dat.

-um

This minimal set of endings is also the one used with present parti-

ciples, e.g.

sofandi (nom. m. sg., f. sg., nom./acc./gen. pl.) ‘sleeping’

(see 3.3.9, paradigm 19).

These are the essentials of adjectival inflexion in Old Norse. It is

not the whole story, but all other adjective inflexions can be seen
as variations on this basic pattern. It is vitally important that the
student masters the endings set out and discussed on pp. 80–84
before proceeding to the finer detail.

3.3.4 Basic adjective inflexions — Exercise

1. How many different endings do the strong masculine, the weak

neuter, and the comparative adjective exhibit respectively?

2. Is there a difference between the strong and weak dat. pl. forms?
3. Where is a difference between the nom. and acc. pl. to be found?
4. Enumerate the gen. sg. endings.
5. Enumerate the acc. pl. endings.
6. What characterises the nom. and acc. of neuter adjectives?
7. Where is there (1) identity and (2) close similarity between noun

and adjective endings?

8. Compare the principal adjective inflexions as given on pp. 80–81

with the paradigm of

hinn. What similarities and differences be-

tween their inflexions can be observed?

3.3.5 The free-standing definite article

Before examples of adjective usage are given, it will be helpful to
expand on what was said about definite function in 3.3.2, and show

Adjective inflexions and their function

how the definite article manifests itself in noun phrases that include
adjectives.

As will have been apparent from certain of the examples in 3.3.2,

Old Norse has a free-standing definite article in addition to the suf-
fixed variety (just as in the modern Scandinavian languages). The free-
standing article occurs where a definite noun is modified by an adjective
(the adjective normally always being weak), e.g. (

h)inn blindi ma›r

‘the blind man’. It is also used where an adjective with definite func-
tion (once again weak) is ‘substantivised’, i.e. used without a noun
and thus, in a sense, in its place, e.g. (

h)inir au›gu ‘the rich [pl.]’. (The

inflexional forms of (

h)inn are the same as those of the demonstrative

pronoun

hinn given in 3.2.2, except for the nom./acc. n. sg. which is

(

h)it with a single t. Note that in some texts instead of (h)inn, (h)it,

(

h)inir, etc. we get enn, et, enir, i.e., no initial h- and root vowel e.)

In Old Norse prose neither of the constructions just illustrated is in

fact particularly common except where something or someone is being
distinguished from another or others of the same type or name, e.g.:
hin sí›asta orrosta ‘the last battle’, hinna gƒmlu skálda ‘the old poets
[gen. pl.]’ (as opposed to the new ones),

hendi inni hœgri ‘the right

hand [dat. f. sg.]’,

Óláfr inn helgi ‘Óláfr the saint’, hit sí›ara ‘the

latter’,

hinn ﬂri›i ‘the third’. (Observe that the free-standing article

and its accompanying weak adjective may be found either before or
after the noun).

To express the equivalent of English

the + adj. ± noun Old Norse

employs a variety of other constructions. In prose a much more com-
mon rendering of the definite article than (

h)inn on its own is (h)inn

together with the demonstrative pronoun

sá (see 3.2.2), giving phrases

of the type:

sá (h)inn blindi ma›r ‘that the blind man’, ma›r sá (h)inn

blindi ‘man that the blind’, or, less commonly, sá ma›r (h)inn blindi
‘that man the blind’, i.e. (in all three cases) ‘the blind man’. (Note the
possible variations in word-order, and that

sá and (h)inn agree with,

i.e. always appear in the same case, gender and number as, adjective
and noun — here nom. m. sg.; see 3.3.1.) Occasionally (

h)inn may be

omitted, and we then get the phrase-type:

sá blindi ma›r or ma›r sá

blindi, where sá alone renders ‘the’. In Norwegian sources in particu-
lar, the suffixed article may be used in addition to its free-standing
counterpart, or the demonstrative

sá, or both together, giving phrases

hinn hvíti bjƒrninn ‘the white bear-the’ (literally), hƒndin sú hœgri

Morphology and syntax

‘hand-the that right’,

sá hinn ﬂƒgli ma›rinn ‘that the silent man-the’,

vápnin ﬂau in gó›u ‘weapons-the those the good’, all equivalents of
English

the + adj. + noun. (Note that the phrase-types without hinn,

e.g.

sá blindi ma›r, hƒndin sú hœgri, sometimes have greater deictic

emphasis, i.e. the pronoun is closer in meaning to ‘that’ than ‘the’.)

Observe the fundamental identity of (

h)inn and the suffixed definite

article, the former of which certainly and the latter probably derive
from demonstrative

hinn (see above and 3.2.2). Additional notes on

word-order in noun phrases will be found in 3.9.2.

3.3.5 The free-standing definite article — Exercise

Identify the case, gender, number, syntactic function and semantic role
of the definite noun phrases printed in bold in the following sentences.

(1)

Inn blindi ma›r kom í húsit

‘The blind man came into the house’

(2)

Gekk hann ﬂegar fram fyrir ﬂá kristnu hƒf›ingja

‘Went he immediately forward before the Christian rulers’
‘He at once went forward in front of the Christian rulers’

(3)

Hann skipa›i lƒgunum me› rá›i hinna vitrustu manna

‘He organised the laws with the advice of the wisest men’

(4)

ﬁrándr fór til Nóregs me› kaupmƒnnum ﬂeim hinum
norrœnum

‘ﬁrándr went to Norway with the Norwegian merchants’

(5)

Engi ma›r mátti nefna hann annan veg en jarl hinn illa

‘No man might call him another way than earl the bad’
‘No man might call him anything other than “the bad earl”’

(6)

En ﬂau hin stóru skip, er á›r hƒf›u siglt, ok ﬂeir hug›u
at Ormrinn væri, ﬂat var hit fyrra Tranan, en hit sí›ara
Ormr hinn skammi

‘But those the big ships which before had sailed, and they
thought that Ormrinn were, that was the former Tranan but
the latter Ormr hinn skammi’

Adjective inflexions and their function

‘But as for the big ships which had sailed previously and which
they thought were “The Serpent”, the former was “The Crane”
and the latter “The Short Serpent”’

(7)

ﬁá minntisk hann ﬂess er mærin sú hin mikilláta haf›i
mælt til hans

‘Then he remembered that which the proud girl had said to him’

(8)

ﬁeir snúa ﬂegar at hinni miklu hƒllinni

‘They turn immediately to the big hall’

(9)

Konungr hét ﬂar fyrir Óláfi hinum mestum afarkostum

‘King promised there for to-Óláfr the greatest hard-treatments’
‘The king promised Óláfr in return the harshest treatment’

3.3.6 Examples of adjective usage

As was done for nouns and pronouns, examples are now given of
adjectives in function. With the wide range of adjectival functions and
inflexions that exists, only a selection can be illustrated, with the
emphasis on the most common types. As far as is practicable, the ex-
amples are ordered as follows: (a) strong adjectives; (b) weak adjec-
tives; (c) substantivised adjectives (strong and weak); (d) superlatives
(strong and weak); (e) comparatives — though some sentences con-
tain examples of more than one type. In other respects, the exemplifi-
cation follows the same pattern as for nouns (see the preamble on
p. 31). Note that the adjectival inflexions being illustrated (or the whole
word where there is no difference from the root form) are printed in
bold type. To underline the grammatical relations involved, bold is
also used for the noun or pronoun with which the adjective agrees.
Compare the inflexions used below with those set out and discussed
in 3.3.4. Observe, too, the differences between Old Norse and English
phraseology and sentence formation. Definitions of basic concepts that
have already been given are not repeated; if in doubt the student should
consult the individual commentaries that accompany each of the ex-
amples of noun function in 3.1.5.

Morphology and syntax

(1)

ﬁví var hann skakkr kalla›r
‘Therefore was he crooked called’
‘For that reason he was called crooked’

Skakkr and kalla›r are nom. m. sg., agreeing with hann, the subject. Skakkr is
used predicatively (see 3.3), as the subject complement (i.e. as

Y in: X is/

becomes/is called Y); it has indefinite function and therefore strong inflexion.
Kalla›r is the past participle of the verb kalla ‘[to] call’ which together with
var forms a passive phrase (see 3.6.4); in such phrases the past participle
(which itself functions not unlike a subject complement) inflects as a strong
adjective.

(2)

ﬁar ver›r orrosta bæ›i mikil ok hƒr›
‘There happens battle both great and hard’
‘There a great and hard battle ensues’

Mikil and hƒr› are nom. f. sg., agreeing with orrosta (f.), the subject. They are
attributive adjectives (see 3.3), occurring in an indefinite noun phrase and
therefore having strong inflexion. Although

hƒr› as a nom. f. sg. strong adjec-

tive is without ending, the root vowel has

u-mutation, just as the nom. sg. of

strong feminine nouns (see 3.1.7.1 and 3.3.8.1).

(3)

Eigi mun ﬂat kauplaust
‘Not will that chargeless’
‘That will not be free of charge’

Kauplaust is nom. n. sg., agreeing with ﬂat, the subject. It is the subject com-
plement; it has indefinite function and therefore strong inflexion.

Eigi mun

ﬂat kauplaust is elliptical for Eigi mun ﬂat kauplaust vera (see 3.9.5.2).

(4)

ﬁeir lágu búnir at sigla til Su›reyja
‘They lay ready to sail to the Hebrides’

Búnir is nom. m. pl., agreeing with ﬂeir, the subject. It is the subject comple-
ment; it has indefinite function and therefore strong inflexion.

(5)

ﬁau váru skamma hrí› ásamt
‘They were short while together’
‘They were together for only a short while’

Adjective inflexions and their function

Skamma is acc. f. sg., agreeing with hrí› (f.), which is accusative because it
functions as a time adverbial (see 3.1.2 and 3.1.5, sentence 10). The adjective
is used attributively, and, occurring in an indefinite noun phrase, has strong
inflexion.

(6)

ﬁeir fengu í Dynrƒst strauma vá›væna
‘They got in Dynrƒst currents dangerous’
‘They encountered dangerous currents in Sumburgh Roost’

Vá›væna is acc. m. pl., agreeing with strauma (m.), which is the direct object.
The adjective is used attributively, and, occurring in an indefinite noun phrase,
has strong inflexion.

(7)

Konungsmenn ger›u jarl handtekinn
‘King’s-men made earl captured’
‘The king’s men seized the earl’

Handtekinn is acc. m. sg., agreeing with jarl (m.), which is the direct object.
The adjective is used predicatively, as the object complement; it has indefinite
function and therefore strong inflexion.

(8)

Hann ba› ﬂá vinda segl sín
‘He bade them hoist sails

REFL

POSS

.’

‘He told them to hoist their sails’

Sín is acc. n. pl., agreeing with segl (n.), which is the direct object of the
infinitive clause. Note that though the reflexive possessive agrees with

ﬂá

(the subject of

vinda, cf. 3.9.4) in person (both are 3rd), it agrees with segl in

case, gender and number. Possessives have only strong forms: they are
themselves determiners, not part of what is determined or defined.

(9)

ﬁví næst heyr›u ﬂeir út til hƒggva stórra
‘To-that next heard they out to blows big’
‘Thereupon they heard the sound of great blows outside’

Stórra is gen. pl., agreeing with hƒggva (n.), the noun of the preposition phrase
til hƒggva stórra. The case of the noun is governed by the preposition til (see
3.7, 3.7.2). The adjective is used attributively, and, occurring in an indefinite
noun phrase, has strong inflexion.

Morphology and syntax

(10)

Oss er ván snarpligrar orrostu
‘To-us is expectation of-hard battle’
‘We can expect a hard battle’

Snarpligrar is gen. f. sg., agreeing with orrostu (f.), which is an objective
genitive, that is, it corresponds to English ‘of . . . ’ and presents the battle as
the object of the expectation (cf. the idiomatic translation above). The adjec-
tive is used attributively, and, occurring in an indefinite noun phrase, has strong
inflexion.

(11)

Nú skulu› ﬂér taka ƒmbun verka y›varra
‘Now shall you [pl.] take reward of-works your [pl.]’
‘Now you shall reap the reward of your deeds’

Y›varra is gen. pl., agreeing with verka (n.), which is an objective genitive,
that is, it corresponds to English ‘of . . . ’ and presents the deeds as being
rewarded (cf. ‘X rewarded the deed’). Note that though the possessive adjective
(here functioning as a reflexive, cf. 3.2.1) agrees with

ﬂér in person (they are

both 2nd pl.), it agrees with

verka in case and number (gender is not marked

in the gen. pl.). (On the strong inflexion of

y›varra, see (8) above.)

(12)

ﬁeir dvƒl›usk ﬂar í allgó›um fagna›i
‘They stayed-

sk [see 3.6.5.3] there in very-good hospitality’

‘They stayed there with excellent hospitality’

Allgó›um is dat. m. sg., agreeing with fagna›i (m.), the noun of the preposition
phrase

í allgó›um fagna›i. The case of the noun is governed by the preposition

í. The adjective is used attributively, and, occurring in an indefinite noun phrase,
has strong inflexion.

(13)

A›ils konungr var mjƒk kærr at gó›um hestum
‘King A›ils was very fond of good horses’

Kærr is nom. m. sg., agreeing with A›ils (m.), the subject. It is the head word
of the subject complement; it has indefinite function and therefore strong
inflexion.

Gó›um is dat. pl., agreeing with hestum (m.), the noun of the

preposition phrase

at gó›um hestum. The case of the noun is governed by the

preposition

at. The adjective is used attributively and has indefinite function

and therefore strong inflexion. The preposition phrase modifies the adjective

kærr.

Adjective inflexions and their function

(14)

Hverr er ﬂessi ma›r hinn drengiligi?
‘Who is this man the valiant?’
‘Who is this valiant man?’

Drengiligi is nom. m. sg., agreeing with ma›r (m.), the subject (cf. who is X?
X is Y, where X is the subject). The adjective is used attributively, and, occur-
ring in a definite noun phrase, has weak inflexion.

(15)

Erlingr jarl lét drepa Eindri›a unga
‘Erlingr earl let kill Eindri›i ungi’
‘Earl Erlingr had Eindri›i the young killed’

Unga is acc. m. sg., agreeing with Eindri›a (m.), the direct object. It is used
as a ‘defining’ epithet (Eindri›i ‘the young’ as opposed to any other Eindri›i);
as such it is part of a definite noun phrase and therefore has weak inflexion.
Observe that definite function in itself is enough to trigger weak inflexion,
there being no determiners in the noun phrase in question.

(16)

Hann var sonr Óláfs ins hvíta ok Au›ar innar djúpú›gu.
‘He was the son of Óláfr the white and Au›r the deep-minded’

Hvíta is gen. m. sg., agreeing with Óláfs (m.), and djúpú›gu gen. f. sg., agree-
ing with

Au›ar (f.); both nouns are subjective (possessive) genitives (Óláfr

and Au›r have ‘him’ as their son). As in (15), the adjectives are used as
‘defining’ epithets, but here in conjunction with the free-standing article (

h)inn.

Both are part of definite noun phrases and therefore have weak inflexion.

(17)

Hann bau› ambótt sinni ﬂeirri ﬂrœnzku at hon skyldi . . .
‘He ordered bondwoman

REFL

POSS

. that Throndish that she

should . . .’
‘He ordered his bondwoman from ﬁrœndalƒg to . . .’

Sinni and ﬂrœnzku are dat. f. sg., agreeing with ambótt (f.), which is the indi-
rect object of

bau› (cf. that he gave an order to the bondwoman). Note that

though the reflexive possessive agrees with

hann in person (both are 3rd), it

agrees with

ambótt in case, gender and number. ﬁrœnzku is used attributively,

and, occurring in a definite noun phrase, has weak inflexion (on the strong
inflexion of

sinni, see (8) above).

Morphology and syntax

(18)

ﬁá sendi hann braut ena gauzku menn
‘Then he sent away the Gautish (= from Gautland) men’

Gauzku is acc. m. pl., agreeing with menn (m.), the direct object. It is used
attributively, and, occurring in a definite noun phrase, has weak inflexion.

(19)

ﬁví munu fáir trúa
‘That will few [pl.] believe’
‘Few will believe that’

Fáir is nom. m. pl. (masculine is the default gender where the reference is to
people in general). The adjective stands on its own without a noun and forms
the subject. It has indefinite function and therefore strong inflexion.

(20)

Hann lét jafna refsing hafa ríkan ok óríkan
‘He let equal punishment have mighty [sg.] and unmighty
[sg.]’
‘He gave both mighty and unmighty equal punishment’

Jafna is acc. f. sg., agreeing with refsing (f.), which is the direct object of
hafa. The adjective is used attributively, and, occurring in an indefinite noun
phrase, has strong inflexion.

Ríkan and óríkan are acc. m. sg. They stand on

their own without a noun — but referring to individual males — and form the
direct object of

lét. They have indefinite function and therefore strong inflexion.

The construction here is what is known as an accusative and infinitive: the
accusative objects of

lét, ‘mighty and unmighty’, are in a sense also the subjects

hafa (see 3.9.4).

(21)

Snústu frá illu ok ger gott
‘Turn from evil and do good’

Illu is dat. n. sg. It stands on its own without a noun and is part of the prepo-
sition phrase

frá illu, its case being determined by the preposition. Gott is acc.

n. sg., and it, too, stands on its own without a noun. It is the direct object of the
verb

ger. Both adjectives have indefinite function and therefore strong

inflexion. They are neuter because they do not refer to an entity of masculine
or feminine gender. (Note that

snústu is a contracted form of snúsk ﬂú: -sk

verb (see 3.6.5.3) + the personal pronoun

ﬂú (literally ‘turn you’). Gott is an

irregular nom./acc. n. sg. form (see 3.3.8.4), nom. m. sg.

gó›r.)

Adjective inflexions and their function

(22)

S‡n ﬂik ﬂessum enum n‡komna
‘Show yourself to-this the newly-come’
‘Show yourself to this newly arrived one’

N‡komna is dat. m. sg. It stands on its own without a noun — but referring to
a male animal — and forms the head of the indirect object phrase

ﬂessum

enum n‡komna. Determined by ﬂessum enum, it has definite function and
therefore weak inflexion.

(23)

Sveinn var allra manna skygnastr
‘Sveinn was of-all men most-sharp-sighted’
‘Sveinn was the most sharp-sighted of men’

Skygnastr is nom. m. sg. sup., agreeing with Sveinn (m.), the subject. The
adjective is the subject complement; it has indefinite function and therefore
strong inflexion (which follows the superlative -

ast suffix). (Note that the

superlative here is what is known as absolute, i.e. it denotes not the highest
but a very high degree.)

Allra is gen. pl. of allr ‘all’, which has only strong

forms; it agrees with

manna, a genitive of type: menn are presented as a type

of which Sveinn is a particularly sharp-sighted member (see 3.1.5, sentence 14).

(24)

Var› ﬂessi fer› in frægsta
‘Became this expedition the most-famous’
‘This expedition became most famous’

Frægsta is nom. f. sg. sup., agreeing with fer› (f.), the subject. It is the subject
complement; it has definite function and therefore weak inflexion (which fol-
lows the superlative -

st suffix). (Note that here too the superlative is absolute

(see (23)) — notwithstanding the definiteness of the noun phrase.)

(25)

Me›an hann var á léttasta aldri, haf›i hann hvert sumar
lei›angr úti
‘While he was at lightest age, had he each summer levy out’
‘While he was at the most active age, he made naval expedi-
tions each summer’

Léttasta is dat. m. sg. sup., agreeing with aldri (m.), the noun of the preposi-
tion phrase

á léttasta aldri. The case of the noun is governed by the preposi-

tion

á. The adjective is used attributively and has definite function and therefore

weak inflexion (which follows the superlative -

ast suffix). On the occurrence

of weak inflexion in the absence of determiners, cf. (15).

Morphology and syntax

(26)

Sá mun ﬂér hinn bezti
‘That will to-you the best’
‘That will be the best one (i.e. option) for you’

Bezti is nom. m. sg. sup. It stands on its own without a noun and forms the
subject complement. It has definite function and therefore weak inflexion.
Bezt- and the comparative betr- are suppletive forms (i.e. they have a different
root from other parts of the word, cf. positive

gó›-; see further 3.3.8.3); ‘z’

denotes the sounds

ts (cf. 2.1.3), so what we have is in effect *bet-st-. The

phrase

hinn bezti is elliptical for hinn bezti kostr ‘the best choice/option’.

(27)

Ok svá var, ﬂví at jarl var ﬂess fúsari
‘And thus was, therefore that earl was of-that keener’
‘And thus it was, because the earl was more in favour of it’

Fúsari is nom. m. sg. comp., agreeing with jarl (m.), the subject of the second
sentence. The adjective is the subject complement. Following the compara-
tive suffix -

ar, we get the appropriate comparative inflexion, which remains

the same whether the function is indefinite or definite.

(28)

ﬁar gekk Rƒgnvaldr jarl af skipum ok allt it gƒfgara li› ﬂeira
‘There went Rƒgnvaldr earl off ships and all the more-noble
force their’
‘There Earl Rƒgnvaldr and all the more noble of their force
left the ships’

Allt is nom. n. sg. of allr ‘all’, which has only strong forms. Together with
gƒfgara (nom. n. sg.) it agrees with li› (n.), one of the two subjects. Both
adjectives are used attributively. In

gƒfgara, following the comparative suffix

ar, we get the appropriate comparative inflexion (see (27)). The comparative

and superlative forms

gƒfgar-, gƒfgast- show loss of an unstressed vowel: the

positive root is

gƒfug- (see 3.3.8.5 point (1)).

(29)

Hin yngri skáld hafa ort eptir dœmum hinna gƒmlu skálda
‘The younger poets have composed following the examples
of the old poets’

Yngri is nom. n. pl. comp., agreeing with skáld (n.), the subject. The adjective
is used attributively. Following the comparative suffix -

r, we get the appropri-

ate comparative inflexion (see (27)). The comparative and superlative forms
yngr- yngst- have a different root vowel from the positive ung- (because of

Adjective inflexions and their function

front mutation, see 3.3.8.2).

Gƒmlu is gen. pl., agreeing with skálda (n.), a

possessive genitive (the examples, in a sense, ‘belong to’ the old poets). The
adjective is used attributively, and, occurring in a definite noun phrase, has
weak inflexion. The form

gƒmlu has suffered loss of the second, unstressed,

syllable, and its root vowel has undergone

u-mutation (strong nom. m. sg.

gamall; cf. 3.3.4, 3.3.8.5 point (1), 3.1.7.1, 3.3.8.1).

(30)

ﬁeir lƒg›u á ﬂat hit mesta kapp, hverr betri hesta átti
‘They laid on that the most contest, who better horses owned’
‘They made it a matter of the greatest rivalry who owned the
better horses’

Mesta is acc. n. sg. sup., agreeing with kapp (n.), the direct object of lƒg›u.
The adjective is used attributively; it has definite function and therefore weak
inflexion (which follows the superlative -

st suffix). The comparative and super-

lative forms

meir-, mest- are suppletive (positive mikil-; see (26)). Betri is

acc. m. pl. comp., agreeing with

hesta (m.), the direct object of átti. The ad-

jective is used attributively. Following the comparative suffix -

r, we get the

appropriate comparative inflexion (see (27)). Like the superlative

bezt-, betri

is a suppletive form (cf. (26)).

3.3.6 Examples of adjective usage — Exercise

1. In which of the above examples do comparative forms occur? List

all that you find.

2. In which of the above examples are adjectives used predicatively?

List all that you find together with the nouns or pronouns with
which they agree.

3. In which of the above examples are adjectives used with definite

function? List all that you find.

4. In which of the above examples do possessive adjectives occur?

List all that you find and explain which other words in their re-
spective sentences they agree with and in what way.

5. Explain the following forms (i.e. state what inflexion or inflexions

they have and, where possible, the reason for the inflexion(s)):
kauplaust in example (3), handtekinn (7), djúpú›gu (16), gauzku
(18),

ríkan (20), léttasta (25), gƒfgara (28).

Morphology and syntax

3.3.7 Difficulties in recognising adjective inflexions and ways of over-
coming them

As in the case of nouns (cf. 3.1.6), the learner may initially experience
some difficulty in recognising which adjective inflexions are which.

The strong endings are by and large distinctive, and even where an

ending recurs in different parts of the paradigm there are unlikely to
be serious problems of understanding. Although the genitive mascu-
line and neuter singular, for example, both end in -

s, they clearly sig-

nal the genitive singular, just as -

ra is an unambiguous sign of the

genitive plural. The identity between nominative and accusative in
the neuter singular and feminine and neuter plural may be problematic,
but very often their function and therefore their case will be apparent
from the context.

It is when confronted with the minimal distinctions of the weak and

comparative systems of endings — and their overlap with certain strong
endings — that the learner will regularly have to rely on the presence
or absence of other words in the noun phrase, and, where appropriate,
their forms, to determine the case, gender and number of the adjec-
tive. Fortunately, as we have seen, it is the way of adjectives, and
weak adjectives in particular, to be accompanied by words with which
they exhibit grammatical agreement. In sentence (17), for example:

Hann bau› ambótt sinni ﬂeirri ﬂrœnzku at hon skyldi . . .

it can be shown that

ﬂrœnzku is dat. f. sg., even though one strong and

eleven other weak forms have the -

u ending, because of the presence

sinni and ﬂeirri. These words determine the noun that ﬂrœnzku modi-

fies, which means (a): the function of the adjective is definite and the
form weak, and (b):

ﬂrœnzku will have the same case, gender and

number as

sinni and ﬂeirri since all three agree with the noun ambótt.

Given that

sinni and ﬂeirri are unambiguously dat. f. sg., we can thus

deduce that

ﬂrœnzku represents the same combination of case, gender

and number. Similarly, in sentence (22):

S‡n ﬂik ﬂessum enum n‡komna

it can be shown that

n‡komna is dat. m. sg., even though two strong

Adjective inflexions and their function

and seven other weak forms have the -

a ending. Here the noun phrase

lacks a noun with which the adjective can agree, but there is agree-
ment with the determiners

ﬂessum enum. Their presence indicates the

phrase is definite and the adjective therefore weak, and although

ﬂessum

enum can represent the dat. m. sg. or dat. pl., in combination with
n‡komna the pair can only be dat. m. sg. since the dat. pl. adjective
ending (weak and strong) is -

um. In sentence (27):

Ok svá var, ﬂví at jarl var ﬂess fúsari

it is clear that

fúsari is nom. m. sg. even though a total of fourteen

comparative forms share the -

i ending. Jarl, with which fúsari agrees,

is masculine and singular, and the only masculine singular compara-
tive form ending in -

i is the nominative.

Sometimes direct pointers may be lacking. In sentence (15):

Erlingr jarl lét drepa Eindri›a unga

unga might represent the strong acc. f. sg. or acc. m. pl., or the weak
acc., gen. or dat. m. sg. or n. sg. (any case). The only word with which
unga can agree, Eindri›a, is masculine singular. That excludes the
possibility of feminine or neuter gender, or masculine plural, but given
that weak nouns have exactly the same forms in the singular as weak
adjectives, it does not help determine whether

unga is acc., gen. or

dat. (m. sg.). Here one has to rely on function. The verb

drepa takes a

direct object in the accusative, and since its -

r ending shows Erlingr to

be nominative and thus subject, and there are no other noun phrases in
the sentence,

Eindri›a unga must be the direct object and therefore

accusative.

3.3.7 Difficulties in recognising adjective inflexions and ways of over-
coming them — Exercise

1. Why may it sometimes be difficult to recognise the case, gender

and number of adjectives in Old Norse?

2. What means can we use to help us deduce their case and number?

Morphology and syntax

3.3.8 Important variations in adjective inflexion

Adjectives in Old Norse are not subject to as much inflexional varia-
tion as nouns (cf. 3.1.7). Nevertheless, they exhibit a wider range of
forms than those described in 3.3.4 (cf., e.g., the comparative

yngri

and the weak pl.

gƒmlu in (29)). The significant variations will now

be examined.

3.3.8.1 Labial mutation

The basics of labial mutation were discussed in 3.1.7.1. Since, as
pointed out there, it is a rule of Old Norse that

a cannot appear before

u or v, it is clear that adjectives with a in the root, just as nouns, will
change that

a to ƒ whenever an ending is applied that consists of or

contains a

u. Thus, the strong dat. m. sg. and dat. pl. of har›r ‘hard’ is

hƒr›um, and the strong dat. n. sg., weak acc., gen., dat. f. sg. and weak
nom., acc., gen. pl.

hƒr›u (see paradigms 2 and 14 in 3.3.9).

This rule should not cause the learner problems, as long as s/he

remembers that an unknown word with ƒ in the root and u in the
ending must be looked up in the dictionary as though it had root a
if it cannot be found there with root ƒ (for an example of the latter
type, cf.

fƒlr ‘pale’ — paradigm 6 below). Just as hƒr›um and hƒr›u

will be found under

har›r, so grƒnnum or grƒnnu must be looked up

under

grannr ‘thin’, lƒngum or lƒngu under langr ‘long’, snƒrpum or

snƒrpu under snarpr ‘keen’, ‘hard’, etc.

Like certain noun forms, adjectives may have

ƒ in the root even

where no

u or v follows in the next syllable. The cause is the same: the

presence of a following

u at an earlier stage of the language. We have

seen (pp. 81–2) how closely adjective inflexions parallel those of nouns,
and it is therefore no surprise (and of some help to the student) to
learn that it is in part in the same forms that root

ƒ is encountered in

adjectives. The forms concerned are: strong nom. f. sg. and strong
nom./acc. n. pl. The strong nom. f. sg. and nom./acc. n. pl. of

har›r is

thus

hƒr› (< *har›u; cf. sentence (2)), of grannr grƒnn, of langr lƒng,

etc. (see paradigm 2 below). In these cases, too, an unknown word
with root

ƒ must be looked up in a dictionary as though it had root a if

it cannot be found there with root

ƒ.

Adjective inflexions and their function

U-mutation in adjectives affects unstressed as well as stressed syl-

lables, just as with nouns. In adjectives, too, it results in

u in the un-

stressed syllable, and the mutation can then spread further (for the
historical process, see p. 41). The superlative suffix -

ast, for example,

appears as -

ust when a -u or -um ending follows. Thus skygnastr of

sentence (23) and

léttasta of (25) become skygnustu, léttustu, skygn-

ustum, léttustum in the appropriate forms; adjectives with root a, e.g.
har›r, exhibit u in the superlative suffix and ƒ in the root: hƒr›ustu,
hƒr›ustum (see paradigms 12, 17 below). Adjectives with two-syllable
stems are also affected:

spurall ‘inquisitive’, ykkarr ‘your [dual]’, for

example, become

spurul, ykkur in the (strong) nom. f. sg. and nom./

acc. n. pl., and

gamall ‘old’, with root a, has strong nom. f. sg. and

nom./acc. n. pl.

gƒmul (< *gamalu) (see paradigms 8, 22). Present

participles are a partial exception in that the -

and- suffix by which

they are formed becomes -

ƒnd- in the dat. pl., e.g., sofƒndum ‘sleep-

ing’ (paradigm 19); this is because the suffix has secondary stress.

3.3.8.1 Labial mutation — Exercise

1. In which forms of the adjective does root

a change to ƒ?

2. Explain the differences in vowel quality (a) between the strong

nom. m. sg. sup.

spakastr and the dat. pl. sup. spƒkustum ‘wisest’,

and (b) between the strong nom. m. sg.

atall and the strong nom. f.

sg.

ƒtul ‘fierce’.

3. Look up the following adjectives in an Old Norse dictionary or in

the Glossary in

NION III and write down the entry forms you find:

sƒnnu, glƒ›, spƒkurum, ﬂƒgul, vitrustu.

3.3.8.2 Front mutation

The basics of front mutation were discussed in 3.1.7.2. The only parts
of adjectival inflexion affected by this process are certain comparative
and superlative forms. Those adjectives that form the comparative with
the -

r and the superlative with the -st suffix undergo front mutation of

back root vowels. We find the following back : front correspondences
(the examples contrast the strong nom. m. sg. pos. form with the nom.
m. sg. comp.):

100

Morphology and syntax

a ——— e

(

langr ——— lengri ‘long’, ‘longer’)

á ——— æ

(

lágr ——— lægri ‘low’, ‘lower’)

ó ——— œ

(

stórr ——— stœrri ‘big’, ‘bigger’)

u ——— y

(

ungr ——— yngri ‘young’, ‘younger’)

ú ——— ‡

(

djúpr ——— d‡pri ‘deep’, ‘deeper’)

ƒ ——— ø

(

ﬂrƒngr ——— ﬂrøngri ‘narrow’, ‘narrower’)

Observe the loss of

j in d‡pri. The corresponding superlative forms

(strong nom. m. sg.) are:

lengstr, lægstr, stœrstr, yngstr, d‡pstr, ﬂrøngstr.

If the learner is confronted by what appears to be a comparative or

superlative form with one of the above front vowels, and s/he is un-
able to find the word in a dictionary, it should be looked up substitut-
ing the appropriate back vowel. No entry *

fegr will be found, for

example, so the learner puzzled by the word

fegrstu in the phrase enir

fegrstu litir ‘the fairest colours’ should try under fagr.

3.3.8.3 Suppletive forms

As will have become clear from certain of the examples in 3.3.6, a
few comparative and superlative forms (mostly very common) are
suppletive, i.e. they have a completely different root from that of their
positive counterpart. There are unfortunately no rules or guide-lines
here and the student will simply have to learn the positive and the
suppletive forms as separate items. Some help is to be had from the
fact that many of the suppletives also occur in English, cf. the follow-
ing list (featuring the (strong) nom. m. sg. positive, comparative and
superlative forms):

gamall —— ellri —— elztr

‘old’, ‘older’, ‘oldest’ (cf. elder, eldest)

gó›r —— betri —— beztr

‘good’, ‘better’, ‘best’

illr —— verri —— verstr

‘bad’, ‘worse’, ‘worst’

lítill —— minni —— minnstr

‘little’, ‘smaller’, ‘smallest’

margr —— fleiri —— flestr

‘many a’, ‘more’, ‘most’

mikill —— meiri —— mestr

‘big’, ‘bigger’, ‘biggest’

Observe that in

minni (< *minri) the r of the comparative suffix

assimilates to the

n of the root (cf. 3.3.8.4 below). Fleiri, flestr are

used of entities that can be counted, e.g.

í flestum lƒndum ‘in most

Adjective inflexions and their function

101

countries’; for non-count entities,

meiri, mestr are employed in the

sense ‘more’, ‘most’, e.g.

meira fé ‘more wealth’.

3.3.8.4 Deviations from the basic endings

Certain endings occur that do not accord with those given in 3.3.4. We
have already seen there that consonantal assimilations affect adjec-
tives with the -

in and -al, -il, -ul suffixes as well as the possessives

minn, ﬂinn, sinn, and that the -in-suffix adjectives and the possessives
have an acc. m. sg. in -

n rather than -an (see paradigms 7, 8, 21, 22).

Other deviations that may cause problems of recognition are:

(1) Consonantal assimilations in monosyllabic adjectives that follow

the pattern of the disyllabic types and the possessives just mentioned.
In some monosyllabic adjectives whose root ends in

l, n, s, an immedi-

ately following

r (in the strong nom. m. sg., gen. and dat. f. sg. and

gen. pl. endings, and in comparatives with an -

r suffix) assimilates to

the

l, n or s (e.g. háll ‘slippery’ (< *hálr); dat. f. sg. heilli ‘whole’,

‘healthy’, (< *

heilri); gen. f. sg. vænnar ‘hopeful’, ‘beautiful’ (< *vænrar);

dat. pl. comp.

hreinnum ‘purer’ (< *hreinrum); jafn ‘equal’, ‘even’

(< *

jafnn < *jafnr); frjáls ‘free’ (< *frjálss < *frjálsr); see paradigms

3, 4, 20).

Jafn and frjáls exemplify the general rule that consonant +

geminate consonant is simplified to consonant + single consonant (thus
also in adjectives with consonant +

r in the root: contrast, for example,

strong nom. f. sg.

fƒgr ‘beautiful’ (< *fagru) with strong nom. m. sg.

fagr (< *fagrr), strong gen. pl. fagra (< *fagrra)).

(2) Consonantal assimilations that result in the loss or alteration of

root -

d or -› before the strong nom./acc. n. sg. -t ending (e.g. ó›r ‘furious’

— nom./acc. n. sg.

ótt (< *ó›t); vandr ‘difficult’ — nom./acc. n. sg.

vant (< *vandt, with simplification of -ntt to -nt, cf. above); kalla›r
‘called’ (pp.) — nom./acc. n. sg.

kallat (< *kallatt < *kalla›t, with

simplification of geminate

tt in unstressed position); see paradigms 2, 11).

(3) A miscellaneous group of very common adjectives with irregular

forms.

(a)

Lítill ‘little’ and its antonym mikill ‘big’, with roots lítil- (contrac-

ted

litl-), mikil-, have strong acc. m. sg. forms lítinn and mikinn and

strong nom./acc. n. sg.

lítit and mikit (i.e. they behave in these cases as

though they were -

in-suffix adjectives, cf., e.g., opinn ‘open’, tekinn ‘taken’

— strong acc. m. sg.

opinn, tekinn, strong nom./acc. n. sg. opit, tekit; see

paradigms 7 and 9).

Mikill also sometimes has strong dat. n. sg. myklu.

102

Morphology and syntax

(b) The strong nom./acc. n. sg. of

gó›r is gótt (cf. point (2) above)

or, much more commonly,

gott, of margr mart (also sometimes margt)

and of

sannr ‘true’ satt.

heilagr ‘holy’, which drops the a of

the unstressed syllable on the pattern of those in -

al etc. (see 3.3.4 and

3.3.8.5 point (1)), regularly undergoes monophthongisation (i.e. the
diphthong

ei changes to a single vowel) in the shortened forms, cf.,

for example, strong nom./acc. f. pl.

helgar, weak nom. m. sg. helgi.

3.3.8.5 Minor irregularities

The inflexions of Old Norse adjectives exhibit yet other deviations
from the basic pattern, but these are less likely to cause the learner
problems of recognition.

(1) As already outlined in 3.3.4 (and cf. also 3.1.7.5 point (1)), the

unstressed syllables of many disyllabic adjectives lose their vowel when
the inflexional ending itself consists of a syllable — except in the
strong gen. and dat. f. sg. and strong gen. pl. It remains to be added
that not only adjectives with an -

in or -al, -il, -ul suffix are affected,

but the many in -

ig, -ug as well, and that the last, together with -al, -il,

ul types, but unlike those in -in, have strong acc. m. sg. forms in -an

with resulting loss of the preceding syllable (contrast

gamall ‘old’ —

acc. m. sg.

gamlan, au›igr ‘rich’ — acc. m. sg. au›gan with hei›inn

‘heathen’,

opinn ‘open’ — acc. m. sg. hei›inn, opinn; see paradigms

8, 10). The comparative -

ari and superlative -ast suffixes also

commonly trigger loss of the unstressed vowel of disyllabic adjectives
(e.g. nom. m. sg., f. sg., etc. comp.

hei›nari ‘more heathen’, strong

nom. m. sg. sup.

au›gastr ‘richest’; see paradigm 20).

(2) In accordance with the rule stated in 3.3.8.4 point (1), to the

effect that consonant + geminate consonant is simplified to consonant
+ single consonant, adjectives that end in consonant +

t do not add a

further -

t in the strong nom./acc. n. sg. (e.g. fluttr ‘conveyed’ (pp.) —

strong nom./acc. n. sg.

flutt (< *fluttt); hvassastr ‘sharpest’ (strong nom.

m. sg. sup.) — nom./acc. n. sg.

hvassast (< *hvassastt; see paradigm 12).

(3) Consonants may sometimes be lengthened when immediately

following long, stressed vowels. This is the rule with

t in the strong

nom./acc. n. sg., and more or less the rule with

r in the strong gen. and

dat. f. sg. and gen. pl. and in the comparative (e.g.

grár ‘grey’ — strong

nom./acc. n. sg.

grátt, strong gen. f. sg. grár(r)ar; hár ‘high’ — nom. m.

Adjective inflexions and their function

103

sg., f. sg., etc. comp.

hær(r)i (with front mutation); see paradigms 5, 20).

(4) As with nouns (cf. 3.1.7.5 point (2)), the vowels of inflexional

endings tend to be dropped when they immediately follow a long vowel
of the same or similar quality (e.g.

grár — strong acc. m. sg. grán,

strong dat. m. sg., dat. pl.

grám, strong acc. f. sg., dat. n. sg. and acc.

m. pl., all weak forms except nom. m. sg. and dat. pl.

grá; trúr ‘faith-

ful’ — strong dat. n. sg., weak acc., gen., dat. f. sg. and nom., acc.,
gen. pl.

trú; see paradigms 5, 15, 20).

(5) As with nouns (cf. 3.1.7.5 point (4)),

j is inserted in some adjectives

before inflexional endings or suffixes consisting of or beginning in

u; in others v is inserted before endings or suffixes consisting of or

beginning in

a or i (e.g. n‡r ‘new’ — strong acc. m. sg. n‡jan, strong

dat. m. sg., dat. pl.

n‡jum, strong acc. f. sg. and acc. m. pl., weak acc.,

gen., dat. m. sg., nom. f. sg. and n. sg.

n‡ja, strong nom. m. sg. sup.

n‡jastr; døkkr ‘dark’ — strong acc. m. sg. døkkvan, weak nom. m. sg.
døkkvi, nom. m. sg., f. sg., etc. comp. døkkvari; see paradigms 6, 20).

(6) As a final irregularity, it is worth noting that a few adjectives

including the third person possessives are uninflected. These will cause
the learner little trouble, since, like adjectives in English, their form
remains unchanged whatever their function. Examples are:

einskipa

‘with one ship’,

fulltí›a ‘full-grown’, andvaka ‘sleepless’. Some of

these, e.g.

andvaka, can also appear in the nom. m. sg. with an -i end-

ing:

andvaki. The possessives are: hans ‘his’, hennar ‘her’, ﬂess ‘its’,

ﬂeir(r)a ‘their’, i.e. the genitive forms of the corresponding pronouns
which have taken on an additional, adjectival function.

3.3.8.2/3.3.8.3/3.3.8.4/3.3.8.5 Front mutation/Suppletive forms/
Deviations from the basic endings/Minor irregularities — Exercise

1. Where in Old Norse adjectival inflexion does front mutation play

a role? Give examples.

2. What are the comparative and superlative forms of

gó›r, lítill,

mikill? In what way does the inflexion for degree of these adjec-
tives differ from that of the majority?

3. In what forms of the adjective may inflexional -

r(-) be assimilated

to an immediately preceding

l, n or s?

4. Look up the following adjectives in an Old Norse dictionary or in

NION III and write down the entry forms you find: breitt, helgustu,
trúm, fƒlvir, tekit, færri, mikinn, fƒrlan, mi›jum, vaknat.

104

Morphology and syntax

3.3.9 Examples of adjective inflexion

Complete paradigms of individual adjectives are now given using the
same selection criteria as for nouns (cf. 3.1.8, preamble). While Old
Norse grammars in general tend to be over-lavish in their exemplifi-
cation of nouns, they are sparing in the number of adjective paradigms
they include. The current work breaks with this tradition and prints a
selection big enough to enable the learner to recognise with the mini-
mum of difficulty the majority of forms likely to be encountered in
Old Norse texts. The examples should naturally be studied in con-
junction with the guidance given in 3.3.4, 3.3.7 and 3.3.8. Each
paradigm is numbered for ease of reference.

Strong inflexion

(1) Basic pattern:

sjúkr ‘ill’

Sg.

nom.

sjúkr

sjúk

sjúkt

acc.

sjúkan

sjúka

sjúkt

gen.

sjúks

sjúkrar

sjúks

dat.

sjúkum

sjúkri

sjúku

Pl.

nom.

sjúkir

sjúkar

sjúk

acc.

sjúka

sjúkar

sjúk

gen.

sjúkra

dat.

sjúkum

(2) With root

a and final ›: har›r ‘hard’

Sg.

nom.

har›r

hƒr›

hart

acc.

har›an

har›a

hart

gen.

har›s

har›rar

har›s

dat.

hƒr›um

har›ri

hƒr›u

Pl.

nom.

har›ir

har›ar

hƒr›

acc.

har›a

har›ar

hƒr›

gen.

har›ra

dat.

hƒr›um

Adjective inflexions and their function

105

(3) Monosyllable with final

n: hreinn ‘pure’

Sg.

nom.

hreinn

hrein

hreint

acc.

hreinan

hreina

hreint

gen.

hreins

hreinnar

hreins

dat.

hreinum

hreinni

hreinu

Pl.

nom.

hreinir

hreinar

hrein

acc.

hreina

hreinar

hrein

gen.

hreinna

dat.

hreinum

(4) Monosyllable with root

a and final ss: hvass ‘sharp’

Sg.

nom.

hvass

hvƒss

hvasst

acc.

hvassan

hvassa

hvasst

gen.

hvass

hvass(r)ar

hvass

dat.

hvƒssum

hvass(r)i

hvƒssu

Pl.

nom.

hvassir

hvassar

hvƒss

acc.

hvassa

hvassar

hvƒss

gen.

hvass(r)a

dat.

hvƒssum

(5) With final long vowel:

grár ‘grey’

Sg.

nom.

grár

grá

grátt

acc.

grán

grá

grátt

gen.

grás

grár(r)ar

grás

dat.

grám

grár(r)i

grá

Pl.

nom.

gráir

grár

grá

acc.

grá

grár

grá

gen.

grár(r)a

dat.

grám

106

Morphology and syntax

(6) With

v insertion: fƒlr ‘pale’

Sg.

nom.

fƒlr

fƒl

fƒlt

acc.

fƒlvan

fƒlva

fƒlt

gen.

fƒls

fƒlrar

fƒls

dat.

fƒlum

fƒlri

fƒlu

Pl.

nom.

fƒlvir

fƒlvar

fƒl

acc.

fƒlva

fƒlvar

fƒl

gen.

fƒlra

dat.

fƒlum

(7) With -

in suffix: kominn ‘come’ (pp.)

Sg.

nom.

kominn

komin

komit

acc.

kominn

komna

komit

gen.

komins

kominnar

komins

dat.

komnum

kominni

komnu

Pl.

nom.

komnir

komnar

komin

acc.

komna

komnar

komin

gen.

kominna

dat.

komnum

(8) With root

a and -al suffix: gamall ‘old’

Sg.

nom.

gamall

gƒmul

gamalt

acc.

gamlan

gamla

gamalt

gen.

gamals

gamallar

gamals

dat.

gƒmlum

gamalli

gƒmlu

Pl.

nom.

gamlir

gamlar

gƒmul

acc.

gamla

gamlar

gƒmul

gen.

gamalla

dat.

gƒmlum

Adjective inflexions and their function

107

(9) With -

il and -in suffix: mikill ‘big’

Sg.

nom.

mikill

mikil

mikit

acc.

mikinn

mikla

mikit

gen.

mikils

mikillar

mikils

dat.

miklum

mikilli

miklu

Pl.

nom.

miklir

miklar

mikil

acc.

mikla

miklar

mikil

gen.

mikilla

dat.

miklum

(10) With -

ig suffix: au›igr ‘wealthy’

Sg.

nom.

au›igr

au›ig

au›igt

acc.

au›gan

au›ga

au›igt

gen.

au›igs

au›igrar

au›igs

dat.

au›gum

au›igri

au›gu

Pl.

nom.

au›gir

au›gar

au›ig

acc.

au›ga

au›gar

au›ig

gen.

au›igra

dat.

au›gum

(11) With -

a› suffix: elska›r ‘loved’ (pp.)

Sg.

nom.

elska›r

elsku›

elskat

acc.

elska›an

elska›a

elskat

gen.

elska›s

elska›rar

elska›s

dat.

elsku›um

elska›ri

elsku›u

Pl.

nom.

elska›ir

elska›ar

elsku›

acc.

elska›a

elska›ar

elsku›

gen.

elska›ra

dat.

elsku›um

108

Morphology and syntax

(12) With root

a and superlative suffix: har›astr ‘hardest’

Sg.

nom.

har›astr

hƒr›ust

har›ast

acc.

har›astan

har›asta

har›ast

gen.

har›asts

har›astrar

har›asts

dat.

hƒr›ustum

har›astri

hƒr›ustu

Pl.

nom.

har›astir

har›astar

hƒr›ust

acc.

har›asta

har›astar

hƒr›ust

gen.

har›astra

dat.

hƒr›ustum

Weak inflexion

(13) Basic pattern:

sjúki ‘ill’

Sg.

nom.

sjúki

sjúka

acc.

sjúka

sjúku

sjúka

gen.

sjúka

sjúku

sjúka

dat.

sjúka

sjúku

sjúka

Pl.

nom.

sjúku

acc.

sjúku

gen.

sjúku

dat.

sjúkum

(14) With root

a and -al suffix: gamli ‘old’

Sg.

nom.

gamli

gamla

acc.

gamla

gƒmlu

gamla

gen.

gamla

gƒmlu

gamla

dat.

gamla

gƒmlu

gamla

Pl.

nom.

gƒmlu

acc.

gƒmlu

gen.

gƒmlu

dat.

gƒmlum

Adjective inflexions and their function

109

(15) With final long vowel:

grái ‘grey’

Sg.

nom.

grái

grá

acc.

grá

gen.

grá

dat.

grá

Pl.

nom.

grá

acc.

grá

gen.

grá

dat.

grám

(16) With -

a› suffix: elska›i ‘loved’

Sg.

nom.

elska›i

elska›a

acc.

elska›a

elsku›u

elska›a

gen.

elska›a

elsku›u

elska›a

dat.

elska›a

elsku›u

elska›a

Pl.

nom.

elsku›u

acc.

elsku›u

gen.

elsku›u

dat.

elsku›um

(17) With root

a and superlative suffix: har›asti ‘hardest’

Sg.

nom.

har›asti

har›asta

acc.

har›asta

hƒr›ustu

har›asta

gen.

har›asta

hƒr›ustu

har›asta

dat.

har›asta

hƒr›ustu

har›asta

Pl.

nom.

hƒr›ustu

acc.

hƒr›ustu

gen.

hƒr›ustu

dat.

hƒr›ustum

110

Morphology and syntax

Comparative and present participle inflexion

(18) (With root

a) har›ari ‘harder’

Sg.

nom.

har›ari

har›ara

acc.

har›ara

har›ari

har›ara

gen.

har›ara

har›ari

har›ara

dat.

har›ara

har›ari

har›ara

Pl.

nom.

har›ari

acc.

har›ari

gen.

har›ari

dat.

hƒr›urum

(19)

sofandi ‘sleeping’

Sg.

nom.

sofandi

sofanda

acc.

sofanda

sofandi

sofanda

gen.

sofanda

sofandi

sofanda

dat.

sofanda

sofandi

sofanda

Pl.

nom.

sofandi

acc.

sofandi

gen.

sofandi

dat.

sofƒndum

Degree inflexion

(20) Main types, illustrated by strong and comp. nom. m. sg. forms

pos.

comp.

sup.

sjúkr ‘ill’

sjúkari

sjúkastr

hreinn ‘pure’

hreinni

hreinstr

hvass ‘sharp’

hvassari

hvassastr

grár ‘grey’

grár(r)i

grástr

fƒlr ‘pale’

fƒlvari

fƒlvastr

hei›inn ‘heathen’

hei›nari

hei›nastr

au›igr ‘wealthy’

au›igri

au›gastr

Adjective inflexions and their function

111

Irregular comp. and sup. forms involving front mutation and

suppletion are dealt with in 3.3.8.2 and 3.3.8.3 above.

Possessive adjective inflexion

(21)

minn ‘my’

Sg.

nom.

minn

mín

mitt

acc.

minn

mína

mitt

gen.

míns

minnar

míns

dat.

mínum

minni

mínu

Pl.

nom.

mínir

mínar

mín

acc.

mína

mínar

mín

gen.

minna

dat.

mínum

(22)

ykkarr ‘your [dual]’

Sg.

nom.

ykkarr

ykkur

ykkart

acc.

ykkarn

ykkra

ykkart

gen.

ykkars

ykkarrar

ykkars

dat.

ykkrum

ykkarri

ykkru

Pl.

nom.

ykkrir

ykkrar

ykkur

acc.

ykkra

ykkrar

ykkur

gen.

ykkarra

dat.

ykkrum

3.3.9 Examples of adjective inflexion — Exercise

Identify the case, gender, number, type of inflexion (strong, weak,
comparative/present participle) and, if comparative or superlative, the
degree of the adjectives printed in bold in the following sentences.
Comment, in addition, on the syntactic function and semantic role of
the noun phrases they form part of. Where an adjective exhibits a form
other than the strong nominative masculine singular positive — the
one used in dictionary entries — give that form as well.

112

Morphology and syntax

(1)

Hann var inn vaskasti ma›r

‘He was the most-valiant man’
‘He was the most valiant of men’

(2)

Hann var íslenzkr at kyni, skyldr honum

‘He was Icelandic by kin, related to him’

(3)

Er ﬂar mikill ma›r á baki í blám klæ›um

‘Is there big man on back in dark clothes’
‘There is a big man on horseback there in dark clothes’

(4)

ﬁér hafi› œrnar bœtr eptir ﬁorkel, frænda y›varn

‘You have sufficient payments after ﬁorkell, kinsman your’
‘You have sufficient compensation for ﬁorkell, your kinsman’

(5)

Hann spur›i, hverr fyrir skipi ﬂví ré›i enu vegliga

‘He asked who over ship that commanded the magnificent’
‘He asked who commanded the magnificent ship’

(6)

ﬁeir áttu lengri lei›

‘They had longer way’
‘They had a longer route’

(7)

Nú má ok ﬂat vera, at gƒmlum manni sé eigi ósárari
sonardau›i sinn

‘Now may also that be, that to-old man is not unsorer son’s-
death

REFL

POSS

.’

‘Now it may also be that to an old man his son’s death is not
less painful’

(8)

Eru honum sƒg› tí›indin

‘Are to-him said tidings-the’
‘The news is told to him’

(9)

Hann var fa›ir Eiríks ins spaka

‘He was the father of Eiríkr the wise’

(10)

ﬁeir fundu ﬂegar sveininn ﬂar sofanda hjá húsi einu

‘They found immediately boy-the there sleeping by house one’
‘They at once found the boy sleeping there beside a certain
building’

Adjective inflexions and their function

113

(11)

Hér mun ﬂinn ﬂroski mestr

‘Here will your advancement greatest’
‘Here is where you will prosper most’

(12)

Hann hélt ƒll heit sín drengiliga vi› sína menn

‘He kept all promises

REFL

POSS

. nobly with

REFL

POSS

. men’

‘He nobly kept all his promises to his men’

(13)

Ek hefi til fás hlutazk, sí›an ek kom til Íslands

‘I have to few allocated-

sk since I came to Iceland’

‘I have been active in little since I came to Iceland’

(14)

ﬁar var brekka brƒtt ofan í dalinn

‘There was slope steep down into valley-the’
‘There was a steep slope down into the valley’

(15)

Erlendr vildi ekki, at synir hans hef›i lægra hlut ﬂar í
Eyjum

‘Erlendr wanted not that sons his had lower lot there in Islands’
‘Erlendr did not want his sons to have a poorer position there
in the Orkneys’

(16)

Gangi sá inn gamli ma›r fyrir

‘Go that the old man in-front’
‘Let the old man walk in front’

(17)

Hlaut hann ﬂar inn mesta hei›r

‘Received he there the greatest honour’
‘There he received the greatest honour’

(18)

ﬁau váru allra skipa skjótust

‘They were of-all ships fastest’
‘They were fastest of all ships’

(19)

ﬁeir ráku fyrir sér sextán klyfja›a hesta

‘They drove before them sixteen pack-saddled horses’

(20)

ﬁar er svar›laus m‡rr

‘There is grassless bog’
‘There is a grassless bog there’

114

Morphology and syntax

(21)

Hann lét ﬂar gera steinkastala gó›an; var ﬂat ƒruggt
vígi

‘He let there make stone-castle good; was that secure fortress’
‘He had a fine stone castle made there; it was a secure fortress’

(22)

Ma›rinn var nú miklu vinsælli en á›r

‘The man was now much more popular than before’

(23)

Hann sótti málit til fullra laga

‘He pursued case-the to full laws’
‘He pursued the case to the full extent of the law’

(24)

Kona sú in gó›a d‡rka›i ﬂann helga konung me› mikilli
ást

‘Woman that the good venerated that holy king with great love’
‘The good woman venerated the holy king with great love’

(25)

Veita skulum vér ﬂurfƒndum líkamliga fœzlu

‘Give shall we to-needing bodily food’
‘We are to give bodily sustenance to the needy’

(26)

Fƒstur eru en hvƒssustu vápn í gegn djƒfli

‘Fasts are the sharpest weapons against the devil’

(27)

ﬁeir mæltu fund sín á milli í ákve›num sta›

‘They arranged meeting self be(-)tween in appointed place’
‘They arranged a meeting between themselves in an appointed
place’

(28)

Einarr kva› hann mann gƒfgastan ok hana fullvel gipta

‘Einarr said him man noblest and her full-well married’
‘Einarr said he was a most noble man and she was very well
married’

(29)

Bakkar hávir váru umhverfis

‘Hills high were around’
‘High hills were all around’

(30)

Hann ba› ﬂann milda konung leysa in seigu syndabƒnd
af sér

‘He bade that gracious king loose the stubborn sin-bonds off self’
‘He prayed to the gracious king to remove the stubborn bonds
of sin from him’

Numerals

115

3.4 Numerals

Numerals are sometimes regarded as adjectives, and indeed several of
the inflexions exhibited by the Old Norse numerals either parallel or
are strongly reminiscent of adjectival forms. Numerals may also be
found classified as pronouns, and, in more recent grammatical litera-
ture, as quantifiers. They are treated here as a separate word class. One
of several reasons for separating them from pronouns and adjectives
is that three of the Old Norse numerals inflect and function as nouns.

3.4.1 The numerals and their inflexions

As in English, the basic counting system in Old Norse is divided into
cardinal numbers (

one, two, three, etc.) and ordinal numbers (first,

second, third, etc.). The Old Norse numerals (nom. m. sg./pl. where
they inflect) are as follows.

Cardinal

Ordinal

einn

fyrstr

tveir

annarr

ﬂrír

ﬂri›i

fjórir

fjór›i

fim(m)

fim(m)ti

sex

sétti

sjau

sjaundi

átta

áttandi, átti

níu

níundi

tíu

tíundi

ellifu

ellifti

tólf

tólfti

ﬂrettán

ﬂrettándi

fjórtán, fjƒgurtán

fjórtándi, fjƒgurtándi

fim(m)tán

fim(m)tándi

sextán

sextándi

sjaut(j)án

sjaut(j)ándi

át(t)ján

át(t)jándi

116

Morphology and syntax

nítján

nítjándi

tuttugu

tuttugundi

tuttugu ok einn

tuttugundi ok fyrsti

tuttugu ok tveir

tuttugundi ok annarr

ﬂrír tigir

ﬂrítugundi

ﬂrír tigir ok einn

ﬂrítugundi ok fyrsti

fjórir tigir

fertugundi

fim(m) tigir

fim(m)tugundi

sex tigir

sextugundi

sjau tigir

sjautugundi

átta tigir

áttatugundi

níu tigir

nítugundi

Beyond

nítugundi the ordinals are not recorded. The cardinals are:

100

tíu tigir, hundra›

110

ellifu tigir, hundra› ok tíu

120

hundra›, hundra› ok tuttugu

1000

ﬂúsund

1200

ﬂúsund

As is apparent from this list,

hundra› may denote either 100 (hundra›

tírœtt ‘a hundred of ten tens’ (see below)) or 120 (hundra› tólfrœtt ‘a
hundred of twelve tens’ ‘a “long” hundred’). Correspondingly,

ﬂúsund

= either 1000 or 1200. With figures of this magnitude precision is
often unimportant in Old Icelandic literature; where the intention is to
express exact numbers or amounts, either the text itself or the edition
may make clear what is meant by

hundra› or ﬂúsund.

Many of the above numerals have variant forms (the most common

are specified), but none is likely to cause the learner problems of recog-
nition. It is worth noting that the ordinal suffix -

undi also appears as

andi (though níundi and tíundi are almost universal).

Tigir is nom. pl. of tigr (also tegr, tugr, tøgr), a masculine noun

meaning ‘a group of ten’ ‘a decade’;

ﬂrír tigir, for example, thus liter-

ally means ‘three tens’.

Hundra› is a neuter noun, and ﬂúsund a femi-

nine. All three inflect according to noun paradigms (

tigr according to

paradigm 5 but without the vowel changes associated with root

hundra› according to 27 but without the loss of unstressed a in dat.
sg. and gen./dat. pl.,

ﬂúsund according to 13).

Numerals

117

Of the other cardinals, only

einn, tveir, ﬂrír and fjórir inflect, einn

for case, gender, number and definiteness (cf., e.g.,

ﬂat eina ‘the one’),

tveir, ﬂrír and fjórir for case and gender alone. The paradigms are as
follows (only the strong forms of

einn are given).

einn ‘one’

Sg.

nom.

einn

ein

eitt

acc.

einn

eina

eitt

gen.

eins

einnar

eins

dat.

einum

einni

einu

Pl.

nom.

einir

einar

ein

acc.

eina

einar

ein

gen.

einna

dat.

einum

tveir ‘two’

Pl.

nom.

tveir

tvær

tvau

acc.

tvá

tvær

tvau

gen.

tveggja

dat.

tveim(r)

ﬂrír ‘three’

Pl.

nom.

ﬂrír

ﬂrjár

ﬂrjú

acc.

ﬂrjá

ﬂrjár

ﬂrjú

gen.

ﬂriggja

dat.

ﬂrim(r)

fjórir ‘four’

Pl.

nom.

fjórir

fjórar

fjƒgur

acc.

fjóra

fjórar

fjƒgur

gen.

fjƒgurra

dat.

fjórum

118

Morphology and syntax

In the plural,

einn has the sense ‘only’ ‘just’ (e.g. sagnir einar ‘just

tales’), ‘some’ (

einir hei›nir víkingar ‘some heathen vikings’) and

‘roughly’ ‘about’ (

einar ﬂrjár ‘about three’).

As a numeral (in the sense ‘the two’) we can include

bá›ir ‘both’. It

has only plural (dual) forms and inflects as follows.

nom.

bá›ir

bá›ar

bæ›i

acc.

bá›a

bá›ar

bæ›i

gen.

beggja

dat.

bá›um

It will be seen that

einn (in its strong form) inflects exactly like the

pronoun

hinn (3.2.2); it is also very similar in its forms to the

possessives

minn, ﬂinn, sinn and adjectives with the -in suffix (3.3.9,

paradigms 21 and 7). Certain of the inflexions of

tveir, ﬂrír, fjórir and

bá›ir are reminiscent of corresponding noun, pronoun and adjective
forms. Compare (1) nom. m.

tveir with nom. m. pl. ﬂeir ‘they’ ‘those’,

and

ﬂrír, fjórir, bá›ir with the common nom. m. pl. ending -ir;

(2) acc. m.

tvá, ﬂrjá with acc. m. pl. ﬂá ‘them’ ‘those’, and fjóra, bá›a

with the common acc. m. pl. ending -

a; (3) nom./acc. f. tvær with

nom./acc. f. pl.

ﬂær, and ﬂrjár, fjórar, bá›ar with the common nom./

acc. f. pl. ending -

ar; (4) gen. tveggja, ﬂriggja, fjƒgurra, beggja with the

ubiquitous gen. pl. ending -

a; (5) dat. tveim, ﬂrim, fjórum, bá›um with

the ubiquitous dat. pl. ending -(

u)m. Observe also that the nom./acc. n.

of all four numerals, like the nom./acc. n. pl. of nouns, pronouns and
adjectives, is without a final added -

The ordinals all inflect as adjectives (3.3.4), but subject to consider-

able restrictions:

fyrstr has both strong and weak inflexion (contrast

hann gekk fyrstr ‘he went first’ and hit fyrsta sumar ‘the first sum-
mer’),

annarr only strong, and the remaining ordinals only weak; ﬂri›i

has

j insertion before -a and -u (3.3.8.5 point (5)). The paradigm of

annarr shows a number of irregularities and is therefore given here
in full.

Numerals

119

Sg.

nom.

annarr

ƒnnur

annat

acc.

annan

a›ra

annat

gen.

annars

annarrar

annars

dat.

ƒ›rum

annarri

ƒ›ru

Pl.

nom.

a›rir

a›rar

ƒnnur

acc.

a›ra

a›rar

ƒnnur

gen.

annarra

dat.

ƒ›rum

In addition to these basic numerals, the learner may encounter

tvinnr/tvennr ‘double’ ‘twofold’ ‘consisting of two different things or
kinds’,

ﬂrennr ‘triple’ etc. Both words inflect as strong adjectives. Also

adjectival is the suffix -

tøgr, -tugr, which has the sense ‘of a number

of tens’; it is particularly used of age, e.g.

tvítøgr (ﬂrítøgr, fertøgr,

fim(m)tøgr, etc.) ma›r ‘a man of twenty’ (‘thirty’, ‘forty’, ‘fifty’, etc.).
For 70 and tens above, the suffix -

rœ›r is more common, e.g. áttrœ›r

‘of eight tens’,

tírœ›r ‘of ten tens’, tólfrœ›r ‘of twelve tens’ (cf. above

on the ‘long’ hundred). Uninflected numerals are

tysvar/tvisvar ‘twice’,

ﬂrysvar/ﬂrisvar ‘thrice’.

3.4.1 The numerals and their inflexions — Exercise

1. What types of numeral are found in the basic Old Norse counting

system?

2. Which of the numerals are nouns?
3. In what way may

hundra› and ﬂúsund be ambiguous?

4. Which of the cardinal numbers inflect, and what points of similar-

ity are there between their paradigms and those of other word classes
in Old Norse?

5. Which of the ordinal numbers inflect, and according to which

pattern or patterns?

120

Morphology and syntax

3.4.2 Examples of numeral usage

Inflexions, where they occur, are printed in bold (or the whole word,
where the inflected form is identical with the root). Notes explain the
relationship between form and function, and usage in general. Compare
the inflexions used with those set out or identified above. Observe,
too, the differences between Old Norse and English phraseology and
sentence formation. Definitions of basic concepts that have already
been given are not repeated; if in doubt, the student should in the first
instance consult the commentaries that accompany each of the exam-
ples of noun usage (3.1.5).

(1)

ﬁat var tíunda dag jóla, er Rƒgnvaldr jarl stó› upp
‘It was tenth day of-Christmas that Rƒgnvaldr earl got up’
‘It was on the tenth day of Christmas that Earl Rƒgnvaldr got up’

Tíunda is an ordinal number in the acc. m. sg., agreeing with dag, which is
accusative because the phrase of which it is the head is a time adverbial (it
answers the question: ‘When?’; see 3.1.2). Note that

jól ‘Christmas’ is a plural

noun.

(2)

Sigur›r jarl átti ﬂrjá sonu a›ra; hét einn Sumarli›i, annarr

Brúsi, ﬂri›i Einarr rangmunnr

‘Sigur›r earl had three sons other; was-called one Sumarli›i,

second Brúsi, third Einarr rangmunnr’

‘Earl Sigur›r had three other sons; one was called Sumarli›i,

the second Brúsi, the third Einarr wry-mouth’

ﬁrjá is a cardinal and a›ra an ordinal number; both are acc. m. (pl.), agreeing
with

sonu, the direct object of the first sentence. Einn is a cardinal and annarr

and

ﬂri›i are ordinal numbers; all three are nom. m. sg., the subjects of their

respective sentences (cf. ‘ . . . the second [was called] . . . the third [was
called] . . .’).

Annarr, unlike almost all other ordinals, has strong inflexion.

(3)

Af herfangi ﬂví, er vér fám ﬂar, skulum vér fá fátœkum mƒnnum

inn fimmtuganda penning
‘Of booty that which we get there, shall we give to-poor men
the fiftieth penny’
‘Of the booty which we win there, we will give the fiftieth
part to the poor’

Numerals

121

Fimmtuganda is an ordinal in the acc. m. sg., agreeing with penning, the direct
object.

(4)

ﬁar var mikill skáli ok dyrr á bá›um endum
‘There was big hall and doorway on both ends’

‘There was a big hall there and a doorway at both ends’

Bá›um is a plural numerical adjective in the dat., agreeing with endum, the
noun of the preposition phrase

á bá›um endum. The case of the noun is gov-

erned by the preposition

á (see 3.7, 3.7.4).

(5)

Sámr haf›i ok fjóra tigu manna
‘Sámr had also four tens of-men’
‘Sámr also had forty men’

Fjóra is a cardinal in the acc. m., agreeing with the numerical noun tigu, the
direct object. Together,

fjóra and tigu make up the numeral ‘forty’. Numbers

which include or consist of the nouns

tigr, hundra› or ﬂúsund are followed by

a genitive of type, that is, one which expresses the nature of the entity to
which the numeral refers (cf. English

hundreds of people).

(6)

ﬁar var saman tólfrœtt hundra› manna
‘There were together duodecimal hundred of men’
‘Altogether there were 120 men there’

Tólfrœtt is an adjective in the strong nom. n. sg., agreeing with the numerical
noun

hundra›, the subject. On the genitive manna, see (5) above.

(7)

ﬁá er hann var fimtán vetra gamall, rei› hann til ﬂings
‘Then when he was fifteen of-winters old, rode he to assembly’
‘When he was fifteen years old, he rode to the assembly’

Fimtán is an uninflected cardinal which together with vetra functions as an
adverbial of measure. Where a cardinal is thus used in combination with (the
appropriate form of)

gamall ‘old’, the noun expressing the spans of time by

which age is reckoned (here: ‘winters’) appears in the genitive.

(8)

Hann rei› á Hƒskuldssta›i vi› tólfta mann
‘He rode to Hƒskuldssta›ir with twelfth man’
‘He rode to Hƒskuldssta›ir with eleven men’

122

Morphology and syntax

Tólfta is an ordinal in the acc. m. sg., agreeing with mann, the noun of the
preposition phrase

vi› tólfta mann. The case of the noun is governed by the

preposition

vi› (see 3.7.4). ‘With

ORDINAL

man’ is a common way in Old Norse

of specifying the total number in a group: the subject (here: ‘he’) is included
in the group and the ordinal gives the total. In this particular example there
were twelve altogether: ‘he’ and eleven others.

(9)

Tveir menn ins fimta tigar váru me› Eyjólfi
‘Two men of-the fifth ten were with Eyjólfr’
‘Forty-two men were with Eyjólfr’

Tveir is a cardinal in the nom. m., agreeing with menn, the subject. Fimta is an
ordinal in the gen. m. sg., agreeing with

tigar; ins fimta tigar is a partitive

genitive, that is, one that expresses the whole of which the number or num-
bers singled out for mention (here: ‘two men’) are a part (see 3.2.6, sentence
20). Note how the number is expressed: the fourth ‘ten’ ends at 40 and the
fifth at 50, thus two of the fifth ten, i.e. two on the way from 40 towards 50, is 42.

(10)

En frá Snæfellsnesi er fjƒgurra dœgra haf í vestr til Grœnlands

‘But from Snæfellsnes is four days’ sea in west to Green-
land’
‘But from Snæfellsnes it is four days’ sailing to the west to
Greenland’

Fjƒgurra is a cardinal in the gen., agreeing with dœgra; fjƒgurra dœgra is a
descriptive genitive, that is, one which modifies a noun (here: ‘sea’) by ex-
pressing a quality or characteristic associated with it.

(11)

Rƒgnvaldr jarl gaf Haraldi jarli annat skipit; ﬂat hét Fífa, en

annat hét Hjálp
‘Rƒgnvaldr earl gave to-Haraldr earl the-one ship-the; it
was-called Fífa, and the-other was-called Hjálp’
‘Earl Rƒgnvaldr gave Earl Haraldr the one ship; it was called
Arrow and the other was called Help’

Annat is an ordinal. In the first sentence it appears in the acc. n. sg., agreeing
with

skipit, the direct object. In the third sentence it is nom. n. sg. and is the

subject. Note that

annarr not only means ‘second’, ‘other’, but ‘the one’ and

‘the other’ of two entities. Observe further that

skipit is definite (i.e. it is ac-

companied by the (suffixed) definite article); this gives the construction parti-
tive sense (cf. (9) above), i.e. it means literally ‘the one of the [two] ships’.

Numerals

123

(12)

Kómu sendimenn til jarls ﬂrimr nóttum sí›arr
‘Came messengers to earl three nights later’
‘The messengers came to the earl three nights later’

ﬁrimr is a cardinal in the dat., agreeing with nóttum. ﬁrimr nóttum is an
adverbial of degree, used together with comparatives to express by how much
one entity is more than another;

ﬂrimr nóttum sí›arr thus means literally ‘later

by three nights’.

3.4.2 Examples of numeral usage — Exercise

1. In what different ways may

annarr be used?

2. How might one say in Old Norse: ‘with six other men’?
3. What types of genitive construction are used in conjunction with

numerals?

4. How might one say ‘fifty-six’ in Old Norse?
5. Give the case, gender and number (as appropriate) of the numerals

(printed in bold) in the following sentences, and explain their
syntactic function and semantic role:

(a) Hann haf›i fjƒgur skip ok tíu tigu manna

‘He had four ships and a hundred men’

(b) ﬁeir gengu ﬂa›an inn ﬂrettánda dag jóla

‘They went from there on the thirteenth day of Christmas’

‘Earl Haraldr was then a man of nearly twenty’

(d) ﬁeir sátu í skemmu einni skammt frá sænum

‘They sat in a certain building a short distance from the sea’

(e) Eptir fall Rƒgnvalds jarls var Haraldr jarl í Orkneyjum átta

vetr ins fimmta tigar

‘After the fall of Earl Rƒgnvaldr, Haraldr was earl in the Orkneys for
forty-eight years’

(f) Hét annarr Sƒrli ok annarr ﬁorkell

‘The one was called Sƒrli and the other ﬁorkell’

124

Morphology and syntax

3.5 Adverbs

Adverbs are sometimes defined as words that modify the verb or specify
its action (e.g. English

quickly in he ran quickly, which denotes the

manner of the running). In fact, the function of many words that are
traditionally classed as adverbs does not fit this definition. Indeed the
adverb word class serves as a kind of dustbin into which items that do
not obviously belong to any other category can be put. In the English
sentence:

unfortunately, they could not come, for example, unfortu-

nately is classed as an adverb, yet it says nothing about the ‘coming’,
but means rather: ‘I/we think it is unfortunate they could not come’.

As in English, adverbs in Old Norse are a heterogeneous group.

One feature they all share, however, is that they do not inflect for
number, person, case or gender. Most, like adjectives, inflect for degree
(see below), but that is all. The learner therefore needs to master nothing
more than the meanings of adverbs and to be able to recognise their
comparative and superlative forms.

3.5.1 Adverb formation

Although a number of Old Norse adverbs appear to be primary (not
transparently derived from other words, e.g.

mjƒk ‘very’, svá ‘thus’

‘so’,

ﬂá ‘then’, vel ‘well’), the majority are derivatives. Many are based

on adjectives. A particularly common way of forming adverbs from
adjectives is by adding an -

a suffix (e.g. illa ‘badly’ from illr ‘bad’);

equally common is the use of the strong nom./acc. n. sg. form of the
adjective with adverbial function (e.g.

skjótt ‘quickly’ from skjótr

‘quick’). Adverbs derived from adjectives with the commonly occur-
ring -

ligr suffix are formed in the same way as illa (e.g. makligr ‘fit-

ting’,

makliga ‘fittingly’); sometimes -liga is added to the root of other

adjectives (e.g.

gløggr ‘clear’, gløggliga ‘clearly’), and thus itself

becomes an adverb suffix. A number of adverbs are fossilised case-
forms of adjectives or nouns (e.g.

jafnan ‘always’ ‘constantly’ from

jafn ‘equal’ ‘even’, alls ‘altogether’ ‘at all’ from allr ‘all’, miklu ‘much’
(emphasising comparatives as in

miklu meiri ‘much greater’) from

mikill ‘big’, loks ‘finally’ from lok n. ‘end’, stundum ‘sometimes’ from
stund f. ‘while’ ‘time’).

Many adverbs indicating movement towards a place have counter-

Adverbs

125

parts formed with an -

i suffix that denote rest in a place and others

with an -

an suffix meaning movement from a place (e.g. inn ‘in’, inni

‘inside’,

innan ‘from within’). Some have only two of the forms (e.g.

nor›r ‘northwards’ ‘in the north’, nor›an ‘from the north’ (with root
nor›-); thus also the other compass-point adverbs — on su›r ‘south-
wards’,

sunnan ‘from the south’, see p. 126). Certain of these locational

adverbs can have special meanings (e.g.

útan ‘from without’ and thus

‘from Iceland’, seen from the perspective of Norway). The threefold
distinction: ‘to a place’, ‘in a place’ and ‘from a place’ is also found in
the commonly occurring

hingat — hér — he›an ‘hither — here —

hence’,

ﬂangat — ﬂar — ﬂa›an ‘thither — there — thence’, hvert —

hvar — hva›an ‘where (to) — where — whence’ (it should be noted
that none of these words has the slightly archaic ring of some of the
English equivalents). Adverbs with the -

an suffix combine with a pre-

ceding

fyrir (cf. 3.7.1, 3.7.4) to form prepositional phrases indicating

position relative to another (fixed) position (e.g.

fyrir nor›an hei›ina

‘north of the heath’,

fyrir ofan húsin ‘above the buildings’; note the

idiomatic

fyrir nor›an/sunnan land ‘in the north/south of Iceland’).

3.5.2 Inflexion for degree

The suffixes used to form the comparative and superlative of adverbs
are the same as those found in adjectival comparison, namely -(

a)r,

a)st. As examples we may cite opt ‘often’ and lengi ‘long’ ‘for a

long time’.

positive

comparative

superlative

opt

optar

optast

lengi

lengr

lengst

Adverbs like

skjótt that consist of the strong nom./acc. n. sg. adjec-

tive mostly have the corresponding adjective form in the comparative
as well (e.g.

skjótara ‘more quickly’, with an -ara suffix, lengra

‘farther’, from

langt). In the superlative of such adverbs the strong

nom./acc. n. sg. form is always used (e.g.

skjótast ‘most quickly’, lengst

‘farthest’ with the -(

a)st suffix (cf. 3.3.8.5 point (2)), added to the

roots

skjót-, leng- rather than to the positive adverb forms skjótt, langt).

Occasionally the -(

a)ra comparative ending can be found in adverbs

other than those of the

skjótt type.

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Morphology and syntax

Other minor deviations from the above pattern include the addition

of an extra

r to many comparatives in -ar (e.g. optar(r) ‘more often’,

framar(r) ‘farther forward’ ‘farther on’ from fram ‘forward’) and the
spread of comparative

r into many superlatives (e.g. frama(r)st ‘far-

thest forward’ ‘farthest on’,

inna(r)st ‘farthest in’). As the brackets in

the examples indicate, regular forms may also be found.

Like adjectives, adverbs that form the comparative with the -

r and

the superlative with the -

st suffix undergo front mutation of back root

vowels (see 3.1.7.2 and 3.3.8.2). Few adverbs are in fact affected.
Common ones are

lengra ‘farther’, lengst ‘farthest’ (see above), fremr

‘farther forward’,

fremst ‘farthest forward’ (alternative comparative

and superlative forms to

framar(r), frama(r)st, see above), and the

irregular

fjarri ‘far off’ — firr ‘farther off’ — first ‘farthest off’ and

gƒrva ‘thoroughly’, ‘precisely’ — gørr ‘more thoroughly’ — gørst
‘most thoroughly’.

Also in common with adjectives, a small group of adverbs have

suppletive forms in the comparative and superlative (see 3.3.8.3). The
ones likely to be encountered regularly by the learner are:

gjarna —— heldr —— helzt

‘willingly’, ‘rather’, ‘most of all’

illa —— verr —— verst

‘badly’, ‘worse’, ‘worst’

lítt ——minnr —— minst

‘little’, ‘less’, ‘least’

mjƒk —— meir(r) —— mest

‘much’, ‘more’, ‘most’

vel —— betr —— bezt

‘well’, ‘better’, ‘best’

One or two of the deviations and minor irregularities affecting ad-

jectives (3.3.8.4, 3.3.8.5) can be found in the comparative and/or su-
perlative forms of adverbs also. Attention has already been drawn to
the loss of neuter -

t in superlatives of the skjótast type (3.3.8.5 point

(2)). Further to be noted are consonantal assimilations (3.3.8.4 point
(1), cf., e.g.,

seinna ‘more slowly’ ‘later’ < *seinra) and loss of un-

stressed syllables in disyllabic adverbs when a further syllable is added
(3.3.8.5 point (1), cf., e.g.,

sjaldan ‘seldom’ — sjaldnar ‘more sel-

dom’ —

sjaldnast ‘most seldom’).

Occasionally the alternation

›r — nn seen in nouns like mu›r

‘mouth’, acc.

munn, gen. munns etc. (cf. 3.1.7.4 point (5)) also distin-

guishes different forms of adverbs. We have already noted that the -

form of

su›r is sunnan; its comparative and superlative manifesta-

tions are

sunnar(r), sunna(r)st respectively.

Adverbs

127

3.5.3 Examples of adverb usage

On the pattern of exemplification, see the preambles to 3.1.5, 3.2.6,
3.3.6 and 3.4.2. Adverbs are given in bold type.

(1)

ﬁeir kurru›u illa um brottvist sína
‘They grumbled badly about absence

REFL

POSS

.’

‘They grumbled a lot about their having to be away’

Illa is an adverb of manner; it describes the way in which ‘they’ grumbled.

(2)

ﬁar eru jafnan dregin skip yfir
‘There are regularly dragged ships across’
‘Ships are regularly dragged across there’

ﬁar is an adverb of place; it is the ‘rest’ counterpart to ﬂangat ‘thither’ and
ﬂa›an ‘thence’ (cf. (5) below), denoting neither movement to nor from a place.
Jafnan may loosely be described as an adverb of time; it denotes the regular-
ity with which the event described takes place.

Yfir is a preposition used here

as an adverb of place; it denotes movement within a specified area.

(3)

Tóku menn ﬂá ró›r mikinn ok fóru ákafliga
‘Began men then rowing big and went furiously’
‘Then men began to row hard and they travelled at a furious

pace’

ﬁá is an adverb of time; it denotes the point in time at which men started to
row.

Ákafliga is an adverb of manner; it describes the way in which the ves-

sels moved.

(4)

ﬁessu var skjótt neitat
‘This was quickly refused’

Skjótt is an adverb of manner derived from the nom./acc. n. sg. of the adjec-
tive

skjótr ‘quick’; it describes the speed with which the refusal was made.

(5)

Magnús konungr helt ﬂa›an í Su›reyjar
‘Magnús king continued thence to Hebrides’
‘King Magnús went on from there to the Hebrides’

ﬁa›an is an adverb of place; the -an suffix imparts to it the sense of move-
ment from a place.

128

Morphology and syntax

(6)

Magnús konungr helt sunnan me› Skotlandi
‘Magnús king continued from-south along Scotland’

‘King Magnús continued northwards along the coast of Scot-
land’

Sunnan is an adverb of place; the -an suffix imparts to it the sense of move-
ment from a place. Note, however, that here it seems more natural in English
to render the movement as motion towards, i.e. ‘northwards’ (cf. further:

ofan

‘from above’ ‘down’,

ne›an ‘from underneath’ ‘up’).

(7)

Hann eignar sér svá allar eyjar fyrir vestan Skotland
‘He assigns to-self thus all islands west of Scotland’
‘He thus takes possession of all the islands west of Scotland’

Svá is an adverb of manner; it refers to the way in which ‘he’ takes possession
of the islands. Note the compound preposition

fyrir vestan incorporating the

adverb of place

vestan (see 3.5.1).

(8)

Hann fór ﬂegar austr til Nóregs
‘He went immediately east to Norway’

ﬁegar is an adverb of time; it denotes the lack of any interval before ‘he’ left
for Norway.

Austr is an adverb of place, here denoting movement towards the

place.

(9)

Eysteinn konungr tók vi› honum forkunnar vel
‘King Eysteinn received him exceedingly well’

Forkunnar is an adverb of degree; it describes how well ‘he’ was received (as
the -

ar ending suggests, this is in origin the gen. sg. form of a noun, forku›r f.

‘strong desire’, see 3.1.7.4 point (5)).

Vel is an adverb of manner; it describes

the way in which Eysteinn received ‘him’.

(10)

ﬁá rœddi Kali um, at ﬂeir myndi eigi fara lengra
‘Then spoke Kali about that they would not go farther’
‘Then Kali said that they would not go any farther’

For

ﬂá, see (3) above. Lengra is an adverb of place in the comparative; it

denotes movement additional to that already made towards a place.

(11)

Litlu sí›arr gekk ma›rinn út
‘A little later the man went out’

Sí›arr is an adverb of time in the comparative; it compares the time the man

Adverbs

129

went out with an earlier event.

Út is an adverb of place; it denotes movement

towards the outside. Although

litlu is in form the strong dat. n. sg. of the

adjective

lítill (cf. 3.3.8.4 point (3)), it functions here as an adverb of degree,

expressing how much later the event described took place.

(12)

ﬁór›r vann ﬂá allra s‡sligast
‘ﬁór›r worked then of-all most-briskly’
‘Then ﬁór›r worked more briskly than ever’

For

ﬂá, see (3) above. S‡sligast is an adverb of manner in the superlative; it

describes the way in which ﬁór›r worked and defines it as the highest degree
of that manner of working. Although

allra is in form the gen. pl. of the adjec-

tive

allr, it functions here as an intensifying adverb: ﬁór›r did not just work

most briskly, but most briskly of all (things).

3.5.1/3.5.2/3.5.3 Adverb formation/Inflexion for degree/Examples of
adverb usage — Exercise

1. In what ways do adverbs inflect in Old Norse?
2. Give examples of three common ways of deriving adverbs in Old

Norse.

3. What is the basic meaning of (a) the -

i and (b) the -an adverb suffix?

4. How are the comparatives and superlatives of adverbs formed?
5. Give the positive and superlative forms of the following adverbs:

minnr, lengra, betr, fljótara, sí›arr.

6. Explain the form (where appropriate) and the function of the ad-

verbs (printed in bold) in the following sentences.

(a) Heldu ﬂeir ﬂá ﬂegar su›r í Eyjar

‘They then at once went south to the Orkneys’

(b) ﬁeir vƒr›usk drengiliga

‘They defended themselves manfully’

‘The dog ran down to the ships’

(d) ﬁeir kómu heldr sí›

‘They came rather late’

(e) Skip Sveins gekk meira

‘Sveinn’s ship went faster’

(f) Sveinn var› seinst búinn

‘Sveinn was ready last’

130

Morphology and syntax

3.5.4 Adverbs and adverbials

In the above we have dealt almost exclusively with adverbs, that is,
single words whose basic function is adverbial and which are there-
fore assigned to the adverb word class. However, as

litlu and allra in

example sentences (11) and (12) above indicate, non-adverbs can some-
times be used in such a way that they assume adverbial function. This
applies not only to single words, but to whole phrases. Many preposi-
tion phrases, for example, are reducible to adverbs. Thus

í + a place-

name is in a sense the equivalent of

ﬂar ‘there’ or hér ‘here’ in that it

answers the question ‘where’ (e.g.

í Nóregi ‘in Norway’), and í + a noun

denoting a point in time or a period of time is the equivalent of

ﬂá,

answering the question ‘when’ (e.g.

í ﬂeim tíma ‘at that time’). Noun

phrases, too, may have adverbial function (e.g.

ﬂat var einn dag ‘that

happened one day’ where

einn dag is accusative and expresses a point

in time; cf. 3.1.2 and 3.1.5, sentence 10). Even complete dependent
sentences may be reducible to a single adverb and thus be shown to
have adverbial function (e.g.,

me›an hann lif›i ‘while he lived’ refers

to a period of time and can be replaced by

ﬂá ‘then’).

Phrases or clauses that have adverbial function are known as

adverbials. But since adverbs by definition also have adverbial func-
tion, they are clearly adverbials too. The difference between the two is
a matter of perspective. Adverbs are a word class on a par with nouns,
adjectives, verbs, etc., while adverbials are functional elements in the
sentence, comparable to subjects, objects, etc. Although this

Grammar

attempts as far as practicable to integrate morphology and syntax, its
different sections are rooted firmly in the word class. Adverbials will
therefore not be further discussed. In fact, Old Norse and English do
not differ greatly with respect to adverbial formation and use, so it is
unlikely the student will encounter much difficulty in recognising Old
Norse adverbials for what they are.

Verb inflexions and their function

131

3.6 Verb inflexions and their function

Traditionally the verb has been defined as a ‘doing’ or ‘action’ word.
This definition, based on meaning, is not wholly satisfactory, since it
can be shown that many words classed as verbs do not denote actions
(e.g. English

seem, need, must). Verbs can also be defined by their

morphology, i.e. as words which (may) have different forms to distin-
guish,

inter alia, person, number, tense, mood, and voice. In terms of

function, verbs are the non-reducible part of the predicate. On the one
hand we have the subject — ‘what the sentence is about’ (cf. 3.1.5,
sentence 1), on the other the predicate — what is said of the subject.
Every predicate must contain a verb; it will usually contain more than
this, but some predicates consist of a verb alone (e.g. English

John

(noun/subject)

arrived (verb/predicate)).

The verb in Old Norse is most easily recognised by its morphologi-

cal features. It inflects for person, number, tense, mood, and, to a lim-
ited extent, voice (see further below). Analysis will also show it to be
the non-reducible part of the predicate, but such analysis may often be
difficult for the learner. In any case, what s/he needs first and fore-
most to acquire is knowledge of the different verbal forms and an
understanding of their meaning. We begin, therefore, with a brief in-
troduction to person, number, tense, mood and voice and a schematic
account of how these categories are expressed in Old Norse.

3.6.1 Person and number

As explained in the case of the pronouns (cf. 3.2, 3.2.1), person in
linguistic description refers to the perspective from which the partici-
pants in a situation are viewed. We saw that in Old Norse, as in Eng-
lish, there were three persons, represented by the pronouns

ek ‘I’, vit

‘we two’,

vér ‘we [pl.]’ (1st person), ﬂú ‘you’, (ﬂ)it ‘you two’, (ﬂ)ér

‘you [pl.]’ (2nd person),

hann ‘he’, hon ‘she’, ﬂat ‘it’, ﬂeir ‘they [m.]’,

ﬂær ‘they [f.]’, ﬂau ‘they [n.]’, sik ‘self’ ‘selves’ (3rd person).

In English, the form of the verb may occasionally change depend-

ing on which person (in the grammatical sense) is used as subject (e.g.
I/you/we/they sing, but he sings). In older English, and still today with
the verb

to be, there are further changes (e.g. I/we/ye/they sing, thou

132

Morphology and syntax

singest, he singeth; I am, you/we/they are, he is). In Old Norse each
person, singular and dual/plural, by and large has its own distinctive
verbal inflexion. Thus if we wish to render ‘I judged’ in Old Norse,
we must say

ek dœm›a, but ‘you [sg.] judged’ is ﬂú dœm›ir, ‘he judged’

hann dœm›i, ‘we [pl.] judged’ vér dœm›um, ‘you [pl.] judged’ (ﬂ)ér
dœm›u›, ‘they [m.] judged’ ﬂeir dœm›u. Note that it is the person
and number of the subject that determines the form of the verb. Further
that it is only person in conjunction with the singular : plural distinc-
tion that triggers this verbal agreement (on the concept of agreement,
see 3.3.1); the gender of 3rd person subjects never affects the form of
the verb, nor does the dual : plural distinction (‘she judged’ is thus
hon dœm›i, ‘we two judged’ vit dœm›um, ‘you two judged’ (ﬂ)it
dœm›u›, ‘they [f.] judged’ ﬂær dœm›u, etc.)

3.6.2 Tense

Tense is a difficult concept to define. In the broadest sense it refers to
the way in which a verb marks the time at which whatever it denotes
takes place. The relationship between tense and time is, however, any-
thing but clear-cut. Thus, what is generally agreed to be the past tense
in English (alternatively known as the preterite or imperfect) may
express a counter-factual rather than a temporal sense (e.g.

if I knew

— but I don’t), and what is accepted as the present may refer to the
future (e.g.

Helen performs there tomorrow), the past (e.g. I hear that

you plan to move) or a regular occurrence (e.g. the sun rises in the
east). Nor do the problems end there. While we may express past time
in English with the past tense (e.g.

David came yesterday), and present

time with the present (e.g.

I am bored), there is no corresponding verb-

form with which to express the future. Indeed, English has no other
morphological tenses than the present and the past. Some argue that
verb phrases like

shall come and will come represent the English future

tense, and further that

have come represents the ‘perfect’ and had come

the ‘pluperfect’. Others go further and claim that

would come and

should come are ‘conditional’, but this is all rather far removed from
English morphology. To be sure,

have come and had come express

something different from

came and from each other (chiefly differ-

ences of time orientation), and

would come does not mean the same as

Verb inflexions and their function

133

will come, but if tense is to be related solely or chiefly to meaning, the
need for clarity requires the creation of a separate term to denote tense-
forms, that is, variations in the morphology of the verb whose primary
function is to signal temporal meanings.

The difficulty is, no such term obviously suggests itself. ‘Tense’ in

the sense ‘tense-forms’, is well established, traditional usage. Since
the lack of clarity arises from the application of the term to a variety
of periphrastic (i.e. separate-word) constructions that express meanings
similar or identical to those expressed by tense-forms, it seems better
to choose different terms for the periphrastic constructions. Verb
phrases with temporal and related meanings that are not simple tense-
forms will accordingly be described as ‘phrases’ or ‘constructions’,
and, where necessary, terms like ‘perfect construction’, ‘future con-
struction’, etc. will be used.

All Germanic languages share with English the minimal tense system

outlined above — using ‘tense’ in the sense just defined. Old Norse
thus exhibits a contrast between present and past tense inflexions, but
has no set of endings whose primary purpose is to mark the future, in
contrast to French or Latin, for example. Nor does it have individual
inflexions for the perfect, the pluperfect or any other of the wide range
of tenses that may be found in some other languages. In place of such
tenses, much as English, it employs periphrastic constructions involv-
ing what are called auxiliary verbs (i.e. ones subordinate to the main
verb, which express mood, voice, time orientation etc.). English

I have

(aux.)

killed (main) the vikings thus has its Old Norse counterpart in

ek hefi drepit víkingana, and I will (aux.) kill (main) the vikings in ek
mun drepa

víkingana (see further 3.6.7, 3.9.7.1).

The past is distinguished from the present in Old Norse in much the

same way as in English: either by root vowel change (e.g. Old Norse
ek tek — ek tók, English I take — I took) or the suffixation of -›, -d or
-

t (e.g. Old Norse ek fylgi — ek fylg›a, English I follow — I followed;

note, regarding the varying form of the suffix in Old Norse, that what
is written ‘ed’ in English is not always pronounced as a simple

d, cf.

voted, walked). Traditionally these two types of past tense formation
are known as strong and weak. As in the case of noun and adjective
inflexion, the terms themselves have no special significance, and one
could as easily speak of ‘type A’ and ‘type B’.

A further difference between present and past, as

fylgi versus fylg›a

134

Morphology and syntax

indicates, lies in some of the personal inflexions, but this is of second-
ary importance compared with the root vowel alternation or the pres-
ence or absence of the

-›/-d/-t suffix. The vowel alternation and the

occurrence or otherwise of the suffix affect all forms of the tense con-
cerned and are more immediately obvious. Some of the personal in-
flexions, on the other hand, are identical in both tenses (e.g.

ﬂú fylgir

‘you follow’ —

ﬂú fylg›ir ‘you followed’, and cf. tek — tók above

with zero ending).

3.6.3 Mood

Mood is sometimes known as ‘modality’, and refers in its broadest
sense to the attitude of a speaker or writer to what s/he is saying. Mood
is thus concerned with matters like certainty, vagueness, possibility,
will, obligation, etc. and the ways in which they may be expressed. In
English, modal auxiliaries (subordinate verbs expressing mood, cf.
3.6.2) like

ought, shall, may, etc. are widely used to convey such atti-

tudes, and that is also the case in Old Norse. To a limited extent, Eng-
lish may also employ inflexion, i.e. in addition to indicating person,
number and present or past tense, forms of the verb may suggest some-
thing about the speaker’s or writer’s attitude to what is being said. In
the sentence:

He goes every day

the ‘going’ is presented as factual — as taking place — whereas in:

I suggest that he go

the ‘going’ is merely something that is envisaged. Similarly, in:

I was single then

the speaker or writer presents his/her unmarried status at a time in the
past as fact. In:

If I were single . . .

on the other hand, the presupposition is that the speaker/writer is mar-
ried, and the counter-factual sense of the hypothesis is (in part) con-
veyed by the form of the verb. Both

was and were are 1st person singular

past tense forms of

to be in English, but they indicate different atti-

Verb inflexions and their function

135

tudes to the truth value of what is said on the part of speaker or writer.
Was, as also goes in the previous pair of examples, represents what is
known as the indicative mood, were, together with go in the previous
pair, the subjunctive.

Beyond these cases (3rd person singular present of most verbs and

1st (and 3rd) singular past of

to be), there is little of mood inflexion in

English. In Old Norse, in contrast, each verb has two full sets of end-
ings. As in English, indicative endings are used by and large in sen-
tences where the predicate denotes something regarded by the speaker/
writer as factual or certain. Subjunctive endings are found chiefly in
sentences where the predicate denotes something regarded by the
speaker/writer as hypothetical: a wish, request, instruction, supposi-
tion, possibility, etc. In addition, Old Norse has an imperative mood
(used for commands — see below), but this only manifests itself in
the 2nd person singular (some have reckoned with 1st and 2nd pl.
imperatives, but these are distinctive usages, not forms). Contrastive
examples, illustrating differences between indicative, subjunctive and
imperative forms in the present tense and indicative and subjunctive
forms in the past (there is no past imperative) are:

ﬂú kastar ‘you

throw’ (indic.) —

nema ﬂú kastir ‘unless you throw’ (subj.) — kasta

(

ﬂú) (or: kasta›u, cf. 3.2.1) ‘throw!’ (imp.); ﬂeir dœm›u ‘they judged’

(indic.) —

ﬂó ﬂeir dœm›i ‘though they judged’ (subj.).

3.6.4 Voice

Voice is a term used to denote the way in which the relationship be-
tween the subject and the object of a verb is expressed. The main
distinction in many languages, and the only one it is useful to make in
Old Norse, is between active and passive. If in English we say John
hit him, the subject is also the agent (i.e. John is the one who does the
hitting, cf. 3.1.5, sentence 1). But we may turn the sentence round, as
it were, and say

he was hit (by John), where the subject, ‘he’, is the

goal of the action, or the ‘patient’, and the agent appears (optionally)
in a preposition phrase (cf. 3.7). The first type of construction is known
as active and the second as passive.

Old Norse forms passive verb phrases in much the same way as

English (e.g.

ﬂeir halda hátí› mikla ‘they hold a great festival’ (act.)

—

hátí› mikil er haldin ‘a great festival is held’ (pass.); ﬂeir nefndu

136

Morphology and syntax

hann Óláf ‘they named him Óláfr’ (act.) — hann var nefndr Óláfr ‘he
was named Óláfr’ (pass.)). Morphologically, such passives are peri-
phrastic: the main verb does not itself inflect for voice, rather we have
the appropriate form of the present or past tense of the verb

vera ‘[to]

be’ used as an auxiliary in combination with the past participle of the
main verb, which inflects as an adjective (

haldin, nom. f. sg., agrees

with

hátí›, nefndr, nom. m. sg., agrees with hann, cf. 3.3.1). (See further

3.9.7.2.)

Old Norse does, however, possess an inflexion that sometimes has

passive function. This is the -

sk form of the verb (so-called because in

most manifestations it consists of an -

sk added to the appropriate verbal

ending). It would be misleading, however, to consider the -

sk a passive

form since it more commonly appears with other functions (see 3.6.5.3).
Examples of passive usage are:

hann fyrirdœmisk af illum mƒnnum

‘he is condemned by wicked men’,

á hans dƒgum bygg›isk Ísland ‘in

his days Iceland was settled’,

hann fannsk eigi ‘he was not found’ ‘he

could not be found’.

Fyrirdœmisk ‘is condemned’ contrasts with

fyrirdœmir ‘condemns’, bygg›isk ‘was settled’ with bygg›i ‘settled’
and

fannsk ‘was found’ with fann ‘found’.

3.6.1/3.6.2/3.6.3/3.6.4 Person and number/Tense/Mood/Voice —
Exercise

1. In what ways do person and number affect the form of the verb in

Old Norse?

2. How many tenses may the Old Norse verb be said to have, and

why?

3. How is the past tense distinguished from the present in Old Norse?
4. How is the subjunctive mood marked in Old Norse, and what are

its chief functions?

5. To what extent can the passive voice be expressed by inflexions in

Old Norse?

Verb inflexions and their function

137

3.6.5 Basic verb inflexions

Having introduced the main categories of the Old Norse verb, we will
now present the basic inflexions by which these categories are ex-
pressed. The emphasis is on ‘basic’. As in the case of nouns, pronouns
and adjectives, it is important for the learner not to lose sight of the
wood for the trees. Deviations from the basic patterns are not infre-
quent, but there is little point in trying to learn those until the essen-
tials have been mastered. In any case, it will often be possible to
recognise an irregular form for what it is once one has become familiar
with the underlying system. (For students keen to see the full range of
inflexions, the grammars cited in the preamble to 3.1.4 are recom-
mended.)

3.6.5.1 Endings

This section sets out the inflexions that are attached to the verbal root,
i.e. the personal endings and the past tense suffix of weak verbs (see
3.6.2). Because strong verbs lack a past tense suffix and some of their
personal forms are different from those of the weak verbs, it is clearest
to provide separate tables for the two types. The student should ob-
serve, however, that the majority of personal endings are common to
both strong and weak verbs. With either type, each tense potentially
has six different endings for the indicative and six for the subjunctive
(three persons, 1st, 2nd and 3rd, times two numbers, singular and
plural), and also the 2nd sg. present imperative. In reality the number
is smaller because the same form can occur in more than one position.
The endings are as follows (~ = zero, i.e. there is no ending, the form
consisting of root alone (e.g.

ek tek ‘I take’, hon tók ‘she took’); actual

paradigms are given in 3.6.10).

138

Morphology and syntax

Strong verbs

Indicative

Subjunctive

1st sg. pres.

-a

2nd sg. pres.

-r

-ir

3rd sg. pres.

-r

-i

1st pl. pres.

-um

-im

2nd pl. pres.

-i›

3rd pl. pres.

-a

-i

1st sg. past

-a

2nd sg. past

-t

-ir

3rd sg. past

-i

1st pl. past

-um

-im

2nd pl. past

-u›

-i›

3rd pl. past

-u

-i

Imperative (2nd sg. pres.)

Weak verbs

Indicative

Subjunctive

1st sg. pres.

~/-a/-i

-a

2nd sg. pres.

-r/-ar/-ir

-ir

3rd sg. pres.

-r/-ar/-ir

-i

1st pl. pres.

-um

-im

2nd pl. pres.

-i›

3rd pl. pres.

-a

-i

1st sg. past

-›a/-da/-ta

2nd sg. past

-›ir/-dir/-tir

3rd sg. past

-›i/-di/-ti

1st pl. past

-›um/-dum/-tum

-›im/-dim/-tim

2nd pl. past

-›u›/-du›/-tu›

-›i›/-di›/-ti›

3rd pl. past

-›u/-du/-tu

-›i/-di/-ti

Imperative (2nd sg. pres.)

~/-a

Verb inflexions and their function

139

Certain regularities and patterns will be observed in these paradigms.
(1) The 2nd and 3rd person sg. present indic. always end in -

r; this

is what distinguishes them from the 1st person, which either has no
ending or a vowel (the same vowel, minus the following

r, as is found

in the 2nd and 3rd person).

(2) The 1st person pl. always ends in -

m: -um in the indicative, -im

in the subjunctive.

(3) The 2nd person pl. always ends in -

›: -i› in the present indica-

tive and the subjunctive, -

u› in the past indicative.

(4) The 3rd person pl. always ends in a vowel: -

a in the present

indicative, -

u in the past indicative, -i in the subjunctive.

(5) The 1st person sg. ends in -

a in most cases, the exceptions

being the present indicative of many verbs, and the past indicative of
strong verbs.

(6) The 2nd person sg. ends in -

ir in most cases, the exceptions

being the same as those noted in (5).

(7) The 3rd person sg. ends in -

i in the past indicative of weak

verbs and in the present and past subjunctive.

(8) The 1st person sg. present and past indicative of strong verbs

has no ending.

(9) The subjunctive endings of the present and past tense are the same,

except that in weak verbs they are preceded by an -

›, -d or -t suffix.

These are the essential verb endings of Old Norse. Certain vari-

ations on this pattern can be found, but if the student has mastered
the above table s/he should be able to recognise the overwhelming
majority of endings encountered.

3.6.5.1 Endings — Exercise

1. In what way does the ending of the 2nd and 3rd person sg. present

indic. differ from that of the 1st?

2. Which verb-form ends in -

3. What endings does the 3rd person pl. exhibit, and in what forms

are the different endings to be found?

4. What characterises all 1st person pl. endings?
5. Which verb-forms have zero ending?
6. In what ways do the indicative endings of strong and weak verbs differ?
7. What endings does the 2nd person pl. exhibit, and in what forms

are the different endings to be found?

8. What characterises the subjunctive endings?

140

Morphology and syntax

3.6.5.2 Vowel alternations

In order to grasp the grammatical function of individual verb-forms,
and thus their sense, it is not sufficient simply to be familiar with the
various endings. It is also necessary to know the fundamentals of the
vowel alternations that occur in the root syllables of the majority of
verbs. These are of different kinds. Some are readily predictable, others
less so, and some are not predictable at all.

Wholly predictable is the change

a > ƒ caused by labial mutation. It

will have been seen that a number of verb endings contain or consist
of

u. As explained in relation to nouns and adjectives (3.1.7.1, 3.3.8.1),

it is a rule of Old Norse that

a cannot appear before u or v, but alters

instead to

ƒ in stressed syllables and to u in unstressed. Thus it is no

surprise to find that although

kasta ‘[to] throw’, for example, has root

a, the 1st pl. present indic. is (vit/vér) kƒstum, the 1st pl. past indic.
(

vit/vér) kƒstu›um, 2nd pl. past indic. (ﬂit/ﬂér) kƒstu›u›, 3rd pl. past

indic. (

ﬂeir) kƒstu›u.

Front mutation (cf. 3.1.7.2, 3.3.8.2) also causes root vowel alternations

in verbs. This too is predictable, but not directly from the verb-forms
themselves since the conditioning factor has in many cases disappeared.
All the student needs to know, however, is in which forms of which
verbs to expect front mutation, and to be aware of the back : front
correspondences arising from it.

The three parts of the verbal paradigm affected by front mutation

are the entire present indicative and subjunctive of one class of weak
verb, the singular present indicative of strong verbs, and the past sub-
junctive of all verbs with the exception of one weak class.

Weak verbs with a short root syllable (cf. 2.1.4) and a -

ja infinitive

(infinitive = the dictionary entry form, corresponding to the English
‘to’ form as in

to go, to hear; see 3.6.6) have front mutation through-

out the present tense (and also in the infinitive), but mostly revert to
the original root vowel in the past indicative. Virtually all verbs of this
type have either

a or u in the past indicative, which mutates to e, y

respectively in all other tensed forms (e.g.

hann velr ‘he chooses’—

hann val›i ‘he chose’, ek spyr ‘I ask’ — ek spur›a ‘I asked’).

All strong verbs that are susceptible (i.e. those with original back

root vowels) exhibit front mutation in the singular present indicative.
The back : front correspondences that arise (contrasting 3rd pl. with
3rd sg.) are as follows:

Verb inflexions and their function

141

a —— e

(

fara —— ferr

‘go’, ‘goes’)

á ——æ

(

gráta —— grætr

‘weep’, ‘weeps’)

o —— ø

(

sofa —— søfr (> sefr)

‘sleep’, ‘sleeps’)

ó —— œ

(

blóta —— blœtr

‘sacrifice’, ‘sacrifices’)

ú —— ‡

(

lúka —— l‡kr

‘end’, ‘ends’)

ƒ —— ø

(

hƒggva —— høggr

‘strike’, ‘strikes’)

au —— ey

(

hlaupa —— hleypr

‘leap’, ‘leaps’)

jó —— ‡

(

skjóta —— sk‡tr

‘shoot’, ‘shoots’)

jú —— ‡

(

fljúga —— fl‡gr

‘fly’, ‘flies’)

The last two examples illustrate a more complex process than

straightforward front mutation: ?*

jó > *jœ > *j‡ > ‡ and *jú > *j‡ > ‡.

All disyllabic past subjunctive forms with original back root vowels

exhibit front mutation. The back : front correspondences that arise
(contrasting 3rd pl. indic. with 3rd pl. subj. unless otherwise stated)
are as follows:

a —— e

(

val›i (3rd sg.) —— vel›i ‘chose’)

á ——æ

(

báru —— bæri ‘carried’)

ó ——œ

(

fóru —— fœri ‘went’)

u —— y

(

brunnu —— brynni ‘burnt’)

jo —— y

(

bjoggu ——byggi ‘lived’)

jó —— ‡

(

hljópu —— hl‡pi ‘leapt’)

On the correspondences

jo — y and jó — ‡, see above.

Breaking (cf. 3.1.7.3) may also cause root vowel alternation in verbs.

The plural present indicative and the present subjunctive of a small
number of common strong verbs have the diphthong

ja, while the sin-

gular present indicative has the original

e (e.g. ﬂeir gjalda ‘they pay’

—

hann geldr ‘he pays’). As with the workings of front mutation, the

dichotomy is thus between the singular present indicative on the one
hand and the rest of the present on the other, though here it is the latter
that has undergone the change.

Strong verbs, as already noted, form their past tense by root vowel

change. The alternations concerned, known as ‘vowel gradation’ or
by the German term

Ablaut, have nothing to do with mutation or break-

ing, but are a feature inherited from a pre-Germanic stage of language
development. With its origin rooted so far back in linguistic history,
the factors that shaped vowel gradation have long since disappeared,

142

Morphology and syntax

and there is therefore nothing like the

u of labial mutation or even the

historical

i of front mutation to warn us what vowels to expect and

when to expect them. The alternations concerned are not arbitrary,
however, but conform to regular patterns, so as soon as one particular
form of a strong verb is encountered, it is often possible to predict
what the root vowels of all the other forms will be.

Here we are concerned with the present and past tenses. In these a

maximum of three different gradation vowels are found, one through-
out the present (subject to front mutation in the singular indicative
and to breaking in the plural indicative and subjunctive), another in
the singular past indicative, a third in the plural past indicative and the
past subjunctive (the latter also subject to front mutation). In all, there
are six regular gradation series, that is, ways in which root vowels may
alternate, and a few minor patterns found only in a small number of
verbs, albeit some quite common ones. One series, for example, has

in the present tense,

ei in the sg. past indic., and i in the remaining past

tense forms. If therefore we come across the sentence

hann greip sver›

sitt ‘he grasped his sword’, we may deduce (a) that greip is a singular
past tense form (in the absence of the -

r 3rd sg. present ending or the -i

of the subjunctive, and noting that there is in any case no verb

*greipa),

and (b) that the root of the present tense will be

gríp- and of the past

plural and past subjunctive

grip-. Another series has a in the present, ó

throughout the past. An unfamiliar verb-form

fór (there being no *fóra)

may therefore be taken as singular past and its present root confi-
dently assumed to be

far-, but with front mutation in the singular present

indicative (cf.

hon ferr ‘she goes’, ﬂér fari› ‘you [pl.] go’, hon fór ‘she

went’). The six basic vowel gradation series have the following alter-
nations in the present, past sg. indic., and past pl. indic./past subj.
(front mutation forms are given in brackets):

(1)

í —— ei —— i

(2)

jó/jú (‡) —— au —— u (y)

(3)

e —— a —— u (y)

(4)

e —— a —— á (æ)

(5)

e —— a —— á (æ)

(6)

a (e) —— ó —— ó (œ)

It will be observed that (4) and (5) are identical. This is because a

complete series also takes in the past participle (see 3.6.6), and there

Verb inflexions and their function

143

the root vowel of (4) and (5) does vary. As noted above, certain verbs
which form their past tense by vowel change follow patterns other
than the six just described. We find

a — e —e, á — é — é, au — jó —

jó, ei — é — é and variations on each. Most of the few verbs involved
are very common, and it is probably sensible for the student to learn
them individually as they are encountered.

In order to flesh out this rather abstract account, a verb illustrating

each of the six series and the minor patterns is now provided; the forms
are cited in the following order (the pl. past subj. has the same root
vowel as the sg., and indeed the 3rd pl. has exactly the same form as
the 3rd sg.; only the basic meaning(s) of the verb are given):

3rd sg., pl. present indic., 3rd sg., pl. past indic., 3rd sg./pl. past subj.

rí›r —— rí›a —— rei› —— ri›u —— ri›i ‘ride’
br‡tr —— brjóta —— braut —— brutu —— bryti ‘break’
dettr —— detta —— datt —— duttu —— dytti ‘fall’
stelr —— stela —— stal —— stálu —— stæli ‘steal’
drepr —— drepa —— drap —— drápu —— dræpi ‘kill’
grefr —— grafa —— gróf —— grófu —— grœfi ‘dig’
fellr —— falla —— fell —— fellu —— felli ‘fall’
ræ›r —— rá›a —— ré› —— ré›u —— ré›i ‘advise’ ‘rule’
hleypr —— hlaupa —— hljóp —— hljópu —— hl‡pi ‘leap’ ‘run’
leikr —— leika —— lék —— léku —— léki ‘play’

3.6.5.2 Vowel alternations — Exercise

1. Enumerate the different factors that cause root vowel alternation

in the Old Norse verb.

2. Why does

kastar have root vowel a and kƒstum root vowel ƒ?

3. Which three parts of the verbal paradigm are affected by front

mutation?

4. Account for the difference in root vowel between

rá›a and ræ›r,

brjóta and br‡tr, taka and tekr and gjalda and geldr.

5. Account for the difference in root vowel between

tóku and tœki,

brutu and bryti and krƒf›u and kref›i.

6. What is meant by vowel gradation? What part does it play in the

inflexion of strong verbs?

144

Morphology and syntax

3.6.5.3 The -sk form

As indicated above (3.6.4), the -

sk form of the verb consists for the

most part of an -

sk suffix added to existing endings. Where the final

sound in an ending is -

r, this is assimilated to the s and the resulting ss

is then simplified (e.g.

finnsk ‘is found’, 3rd sg. present indic.,

< *

finnssk < *finnrsk). Where the final sound of an ending is -› or -t,

the juxtaposition with

s is rendered z (e.g. fœ›izk ‘are brought up’, 2nd

pl. present indic., <

*fœ›i›sk; cf. 2.1.3). This applies even where › or

t is juxtaposed to s after the assimilation of r as just outlined (e.g. gezk
‘is begotten’, 3rd sg. present indic., <

getsk < *getssk < *getrsk).

In older texts the 1st person singular forms deviate from this pattern:

they appear with an -

umk ending attached to the plural root of the relevant

tense and mood (e.g.

ek kƒllumk ‘I am called’, with labially mutated

root

kall-, ek rá›umk frá ‘I refrain from’, with root rá›-, contrast ek

ræ› ‘I advise’). 1st person -sk verbs are not very common at all,
however, especially 1st person singular (and very rarely do they have
passive sense either in the singular or plural, cf.

rá›umk above).

In younger texts not only is the 1st person sg. -

umk replaced by the

2nd/3rd person sg. form, but a bewildering variety of suffixes is found
as well as or in place of -

sk, -umk. The more common are -zk (which

spreads from its original domain, cf. above), -

s, -z, -st and -zt; hybrids

such as 1st sg. -

umsk, -ums also occur. Ultimately, the -st form re-

places all the others, and is the one used in modern Icelandic, Faroese
and Norwegian

nynorsk.

Most normalised texts will use the forms set out in the table below,

but even where that is not the case, or the student is confronted with
an unnormalised text, there should be few problems of recognition.
What needs to be remembered is, first: that -

umk, -sk, -zk, -s, -z, -st,

zt, etc. are variant realisations of a single underlying form and choice

of any particular one does not change the meaning; second: that in
most cases the suffix — whichever is employed — will simply be
attached to the verbal ending (e.g.

nefndisk ‘named him/herself’ ‘was

named’ consists of

nefn-di-sk: root + 3rd sg. past ending + -sk); the

exceptions to this rule have been described above.

With these reservations, the -

sk form of the verb may be set out as

follows. (Both personal and -

sk endings are given; actual paradigms

will be found in 3.6.10.)

Verb inflexions and their function

145

Strong verbs

Indicative

Subjunctive

1st sg. pres.

-umk

2nd sg. pres.

-sk

-isk

3rd sg. pres.

-sk

-isk

1st pl. pres.

-umsk

-imsk

2nd pl. pres.

-izk

3rd pl. pres.

-ask

-isk

1st sg. past

-umk

2nd sg. past

-zk

-isk

3rd sg. past

-sk

-isk

1st pl. past

-umsk

-imsk

2nd pl. past

-uzk

-izk

3rd pl. past

-usk

-isk

Imperative (2nd sg. pres.)

-sk

Weak verbs

Indicative

Subjunctive

1st sg. pres.

-umk

2nd sg. pres.

-sk/-ask/-isk

-isk

3rd sg. pres.

-sk/-ask/-isk

-isk

1st pl. pres.

-umsk

-imsk

2nd pl. pres.

-izk

3rd pl. pres.

-ask

-isk

1st sg. past

-›umk/-dumk/-tumk

2nd sg. past

-›isk/-disk/-tisk

3rd sg. past

-›isk/-disk/-tisk

1st pl. past

-›umsk/-dumsk/-tumsk -›imsk/-dimsk/-timsk

2nd pl. past

-›uzk/-duzk/-tuzk

-›izk/-dizk/-tizk

3rd pl. past

-›usk/-dusk/-tusk

-›isk/-disk/-tisk

Imperative (2nd sg. pres.)

-sk/-ask

146

Morphology and syntax

Although we are concerned in this section with form rather than

function, a few lines on the use of the

-sk form will not be amiss.

The Old Norse -

sk verb is often termed the ‘middle voice’. This is

unhelpful because we are dealing here not with a voice in the sense of
the active or passive (cf. 3.6.4), but with a verbal inflexion that has a
variety of functions. One such is reflexive: the -

sk suffix can often be

the equivalent of the reflexive pronoun

sik (e.g. hann nefndi sik/nefndisk

‘he named himself’). It will be seen, however, that ‘he named himself’
or ‘he called himself’ overlaps semantically with ‘he was named’ ‘he
was called’, and it is probably in constructions of this kind that -

first came to take on a passive function. The -

sk suffix can also have

reciprocal function (e.g.

bítask ‘bite each other’, gefask ‘give each

other’). In the case of many verbs, the addition of -

sk simply imparts,

or may impart, a different meaning from that of the simple form (e.g.
gera ‘[to] do’ — gerask ‘[to] become’, minna ‘[to] remind’ — minnask
‘[to] remember’). Some verbs only exist in an -

sk guise (e.g. óttask

‘[to] fear’). For the learner the best procedure is probably to treat -

verbs as separate words from their non-

sk counterparts, until s/he has

developed some feel for Old Norse. (See further 3.9.8.3.)

3.6.5.3 The -sk form — Exercise

1. Of what elements are the majority of -

sk verb-forms composed?

2. What happens when the -

sk suffix is added to a verbal ending in -›

or -

3. Why do we find the 3rd sg. present indic. -

sk forms kallask, teksk,

nefnisk and not *kallarsk, *tekrsk, *nefnirsk?

4. Where is the suffix -

umk found, and what form of the verbal root is

it attached to?

5. In what guises other than -

sk and -umk does the -sk form of the

verb appear?

6. Enumerate the principal functions of the -

sk verb-form.

3.6.6 Finite and non-finite forms; principal parts

So far we have discussed only present and past tense forms of the
verb. The reason for treating these separately, and first, is that they are

Verb inflexions and their function

147

central to every sentence. It was pointed out in 3.6 that the verb is the
‘non-reducible part of the predicate’, but it would be more precise to
say that it is the tensed verb that is the essential element — and in
Germanic languages that means a verb in the present or past tense.
Thus we may attest in English:

he sings and he sang, but not: *he sing,

he sung or *he singing. Nevertheless, sing, sung and singing are con-

sidered to belong to the same lexical item (dictionary word) as

sings

and

sang, and to that extent to represent the same word class. In terms

of function, however,

sing, as in to sing, behaves more like a noun

(compare

I want to sing and I want beer, in which to sing and the noun

beer occupy the same slot in the sentence), and sung and singing more
like adjectives (compare

a sung chorus, the singing detective and a

noisy chorus, the smart detective, in which sung, singing occupy the
same slots as the adjectives

noisy, smart; note that singing may also

be a pure noun as in

I like singing, but then it is not considered part of

the verb at all).

There is thus every reason to make a distinction between

to sing,

sung and singing on the one hand and sings and sang on the other. In
grammatical description the former are commonly said to represent
the non-finite parts of the verb, the latter the finite. This terminology
is based on the observation that

sings and sang make a contrast of

tense; they are in one way or another bound by time. The same is not
true of

to sing, sung and singing, which are independent of time. That

is perhaps not immediately obvious in the case of

sung or singing.

Sung appears to refer to the past (I have sung mass), and is even called
a ‘past participle’. Consider, however,

the hymn was/is/will be sung in

unison, where the time distinctions are not applicable to sung, but are
in the finite verbs,

was/is/will. Singing is even harder to connect with

past, present or future. It is known as a ‘present participle’, but is in
fact timeless (cf.

the singing detective); in verb phrases of the type

was/is/will be singing, it is again the finite verbs that provide the time
reference.

Old Norse has the same non-finite forms as English, to wit: the

infinitive —

at syngja ‘to sing’, the past participle — sunginn ‘sung’,

and the present participle —

syngjandi ‘singing’. Mention is occa-

sionally made of a ‘past infinitive’, but the form concerned is in origin
the 3rd pl. past indic. and its use as an ‘infinitive’ seems to have arisen
through the recasting of certain finite clauses on analogy with com-
mon constructions that employ the standard infinitive. Very few ‘past

148

Morphology and syntax

infinitive’ forms are attested, in Old Norse prose only three regularly.
The usage is illustrated in 3.9.4.

Being non-finite forms, the infinitive and the participles do not have

verbal inflexion. The Old Norse infinitive is not inflected at all. It
regularly ends in -

a, to which the -sk form may be suffixed as appro-

priate (e.g.,

berja ‘beat’, berjask ‘fight [literally: beat each other]’).

The participles, as we have seen (3.3.9, paradigms 7, 11, 16, 19; also
3.3.6, sentences 1, 4, 7, 22), inflect as adjectives. The past participle
of strong verbs has the adjectival -

in suffix, that of weak the same -›,

d, -t suffix as the past tense (e.g. farinn, farit ‘gone’, from fara, kraf›r,

kraft ‘demanded’, from krefja, strong nom. m. and nom./acc. n. sg. in
both cases). The -

sk inflexion is added to the nom./acc. n. sg. form in

various periphrastic constructions (e.g.

hafa farizk ‘have perished’ (farit

sk, with ts written z), var sætzk ‘was come to terms [i.e. terms were

agreed]’ (

sætt + sk)). The present participle is formed with an -and

suffix, as shown in 3.3.9, paradigm 19. It does not normally take the
-sk inflexion.

Although the non-finite verb-forms in terms both of inflexion and

function are largely non-verbal, they are nevertheless, as noted above,
considered to belong to the same word class as the finite. This is be-
cause it is counter-intuitive to view the present and past tense of any
given verb as a separate word from the infinitive and the participles.
The non-finite forms thus have their place in the verbal paradigm.
Indeed, the infinitive is usually taken as the basic form — as the word
itself, of which all the other manifestations are inflected parts. That is
why the infinitive regularly appears as the dictionary entry form.

As we have seen, the endings of verbs in Old Norse and the root

vowel alternations caused by labial and front mutation and breaking
are predictable. This means that it is only necessary to cite a minimal
number of basic forms for the student to be able to identify a particular
verb-form s/he has encountered, i.e. to determine what verb it is part
of and its person, number, tense and mood. These basic forms, known as
‘principal parts’, include the infinitive and the past participle. From
the infinitive it is possible to deduce all the present tense forms (pro-
vided the person and number endings and the workings of labial and
front mutation and breaking are known). From the 3rd sg. past indicative
(or alternatively the 1st or 2nd person) all the past tense forms of weak
verbs can be readily predicted. This is less true of strong verbs: many

Verb inflexions and their function

149

undergo vowel change between the singular and plural past indicative,
so they need to be cited in both a singular and plural form; the past
subjunctive of strong verbs, on the other hand, can be deduced from
the plural indicative (once again, provided the inflexional basics are
known). Finally, the past participle needs to be given since those of
strong verbs usually exhibit further root vowel change; a few weak
verbs, too, show irregular forms, but for the most part their participles
are deducible from the past tense. We thus have a minimum of three
principal parts for weak verbs and four for strong. Front-mutated
present singular indicatives and past subjunctives may be included as
optional extras, but these are non-essential. The decision whether or not
to cite them will depend on how much help one thinks the learner needs.

This is how the system works. A strong verb like

rjúfa ‘break’ ‘vio-

late’ will be listed in a grammar or dictionary with its infinitive,

rjúfa,

the 3rd (or 1st) sg. past indic.

rauf, 3rd (or 1st) pl. past indic. rufu

(

rufum), and pp. rofinn or rofit (the choice in the case of the pp. being

between the strong nom. m. or nom./acc. n. sg. forms). From the
infinitive, the present sg. indic. forms

r‡f, r‡fr can be deduced by

applying the appropriate endings and the rule: ‘in the present sg. indic.
strong verbs with back root vowels undergo front mutation’. All the
other present tense forms will have root

rjúf-. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd sg.

past indic. have root

rauf- with the -t ending added in the 2nd person.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd pl. past indic. have root

ruf- plus the appropriate

endings, and from this the subjunctive root

ryf- can be deduced, to

which the appropriate subjunctive endings are added. The participial
root is

rof-, which remains unchanged whatever the adjective ending.

A weak verb like

krefja ‘demand’ will be listed with infinitive krefja,

3rd (or 1st) sg. past indic.

kraf›i (kraf›a), and pp. kraf›r or kraft. From

the infinitive all the present tense forms can be deduced simply by
adding the appropriate endings. (One will need to recognise the type
of weak verb involved (see below) to know whether the indicative sg.
endings are

~, -a or -i (1st), -r, -ar or -ir (2nd/3rd), but this variation

is unlikely to cause problems of understanding to the reader of Old Norse.)
From the 3rd or 1st sg. past indic. all the past tense forms can be
deduced by applying the appropriate endings, the labial mutation rule,
and the rule: ‘all disyllabic past subjunctive forms with original back
root vowels exhibit front mutation’. Thus, the pl. indic. root + -

› suffix

krefja will be krƒf›-, because all three plural endings begin with u;

150

Morphology and syntax

the subjunctive root + -

› suffix will be kref›-, because a is a back

vowel and thus susceptible to front mutation. The pp. root + suffix,
kraf›-, will undergo labial mutation like any other adjective (cf.
3.3.8.1), so we find that the strong dat. m. and nom. f. sg. forms, for
example, are

krƒf›um and krƒf› respectively.

In the case of the majority of weak verbs, which, unlike

krefja, have

the same root vowel in the past indic. as in the present, often only the
past suffix (with ‘connecting vowel’ where appropriate; see below) is
given in addition to the infinitive (e.g.

kalla (a›) ‘call’, hefna (d)

‘avenge’,

œpa (t) ‘shout’). From this minimal information all forms of

the verb concerned are deducible.

Kalla undergoes only labial muta-

tion of the root vowel since it is trisyllabic (a three-syllable word) in
the past tense;

hefna and œpa already have a front-mutated root vowel

and this cannot undergo further mutation.

Having now established what the principal parts of strong and weak

verbs are, and how any form of a given verb may be deduced from
these, we conclude this section by listing the principal parts of a strong
and weak verb of each major type, and then explaining more fully
what is meant by ‘type’ of weak verb. The principal parts of each verb
are listed in the following order (those in brackets are optional, see
above; the pp. is given in the strong nom. m. sg. form):

inf., indic. (3rd sg. pres.), 3rd sg. past, 3rd pl. past, (subj. 3rd sg./pl. past), pp.

Strong verb type 1: bíta ‘bite’

bíta —— bítr —— beit —— bitu —— biti —— bitinn

Strong verb type 2: skjóta ‘shoot’

skjóta —— sk‡tr —— skaut —— skutu —— skyti —— skotinn

Strong verb type 3: bresta ‘burst’

bresta —— brestr —— brast —— brustu —— brysti —— brostinn

Strong verb type 4: bera ‘bear’

bera —— berr —— bar —— báru —— bæri —— borinn

Strong verb type 5: reka ‘drive’

reka —— rekr —— rak —— ráku —— ræki —— rekinn

Verb inflexions and their function

151

Strong verb type 6: fara ‘go’

fara —— ferr —— fór —— fóru —— fœri —— farinn

Minor strong verb types:

falla ‘fall’, gráta ‘cry’, hlaupa ‘leap’ ‘run’, leika ‘play’

falla —— fellr —— fell —— fellu —— felli —— fallinn
gráta —— grætr —— grét —— grétu —— gréti —— grátinn
hlaupa —— hleypr —— hljóp —— hljópu —— hl‡pi ——hlaupinn
leika —— leikr —— lék —— léku —— léki —— leikinn

Weak verb type 1: krefja ‘demand’

krefja —— krefr —— kraf›i —— krƒf›u —— kref›i —— kraf›r

Weak verb type 2: kalla ‘call’

kalla —— kallar —— kalla›i —— kƒllu›u —— kalla›i ——kalla›r

Weak verb type 3: heyra ‘hear’

heyra —— heyrir —— heyr›i —— heyr›u —— heyr›i —— heyr›r

The three types of weak verb differ in a number of ways. For the

learner what will be most noticeable is: type 1 has root vowel change
between the present and past indic. (

krefja — kraf›i) and no vowel in

the sg. present indic. endings (

hann krefr); type 2 has a ‘connecting

vowel’

a in the past tense (kalla›i) and a in the sg. present indic. end-

ings (

hann kallar); type 3 has the same root vowel throughout, no

connecting vowel in the past tense and

i in the sg. present indic. end-

ings (

hann heyrir). The three distinct past tense suffixes, -›, -d and -t,

are distributed not according to type of verb, but phonetic environ-
ment, so that

› occurs after vowels and most voiced consonants (kalla›i,

fá›i ‘coloured’, kraf›i, heyr›i), d chiefly after n (hefndi ‘avenged’),
and

t after unvoiced consonants (vakti ‘wakened’, œpti ‘shouted’). In

the earliest texts

ﬂ is found after unvoiced consonants, and from the

late thirteenth century onwards

d replaces › after certain voiced

consonants, particularly

l and m (val›i/valdi ‘chose’, dœm›i/dœmdi

‘judged’).

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Morphology and syntax

3.6.6 Finite and non-finite forms; principal parts — Exercise

1. What essential differences are there between finite and non-finite

verb-forms?

2. What non-finite verb-forms are found in Old Norse?
3. What is meant by the ‘principal parts’ of an Old Norse verb, and

why are these important?

4. Look up the verb

hljóta in an Old Norse dictionary or in the Glos-

sary in

NION III. Give the four basic principal parts and thereafter

the 1st person sg. present indic., the 3rd pl. present indic. and subj.,
the 2nd pl. past indic., and 3rd pl. past subj.

5. Look up the verb

verja ‘[to] defend’. Perform the same operation

as for

hljóta in question 4.

6. How many types of strong and weak verb are there in Old Norse?
7. What distinguishes the different types of weak verb?
8. What determines the form of the past tense suffix of weak verbs?

3.6.7 Preterite presents and other irregular verbs

The preterite present verbs of Old Norse form a small but important
class — important because virtually all its members are extremely
common. The majority are modal auxiliaries (verbs subordinate to the
main verb, which express mood, e.g. English

I would come, she might

go; cf. 3.6.3). The term ‘preterite present’ reflects the fact that verbs of
this type have strong past tense forms in the present; in the past they
inflect for the most part like weak verbs, though not all of them have
the dental suffix associated with weak inflexion. The reason for the
preterite present aberration lies in linguistic pre-history. Put at its most
simple, the Germanic past tense is a development of an earlier perfect,
which expressed completed action or the state obtaining after the action.
While the perfects of most verbs happily made the transition to past,
those of what became the preterite presents seem so firmly to have
expressed present state that they were ultimately absorbed into the
present tense by the creation of new (weak) past tense forms. Thus,
ON

vita ‘know’ is related to Latin videre ‘see’ ‘perceive’, and hon veit

‘she knows’ (cf. past tense

beit ‘bit’, leit ‘looked’, etc.) must derive

from a form that originally meant something like ‘she has perceived’.

Verb inflexions and their function

153

The principal parts of the preterite presents are listed in the follow-

ing order (the pp. is given in the strong nom./acc. n. sg. form, for some
verbs the only one used; note the infinitives

munu and skulu, mod-

elled on the 3rd pl. present indic., which in virtually all verbs has the
same form as the infinitive):

inf., 3rd sg., pl. pres. indic., 3rd sg. pres. subj., 3rd sg. past indic., subj., pp.

eiga ‘own’

eiga —— á —— eigu —— eigi —— átti —— ætti —— átt

kunna ‘know’ ‘understand’

kunna — kann — kunnu — kunni — kunni — kynni — kunnat

mega ‘be able to’

mega — má — megu — megi — mátti — mætti — mátt/megat

muna ‘remember’

muna — man — munu — muni — mundi — myndi — munat

munu ‘will’ ‘shall’ (denoting future time or uncertainty)

munu — mun — munu — muni/myni — mundi — myndi — (lacking)

skulu ‘shall’ (denoting obligation or intention)

skulu — skal — skulu — skuli/skyli — skyldi — skyldi — (lacking)

unna ‘love’

unna — ann — unnu — unni — unni — ynni — unnt/unnat

vita ‘know’

vita — veit — vitu — viti — vissi — vissi — vitat

ﬂurfa ‘need’

ﬂurfa — ﬂarf — ﬂurfu — ﬂurfi — ﬂurfti — ﬂyrfti — ﬂurft/ﬂurfat

Two verbs not historically preterite presents have something in com-

mon with the above. They are

vilja ‘wish’ ‘want’, a weak modal

auxiliary with (in later texts) 2nd sg. present indic. in -

t like the other

154

Morphology and syntax

preterite presents, and

vera ‘be’, a highly irregular strong verb basically

of type 5 but with preterite-type forms in the present indic. (2nd sg.
ert, 2nd, 3rd pl. eru›, eru; note also 1st sg. em). Of vilja the same
principal parts are given as for the preterite presents above; of

vera

the same plus the 3rd pl. past indic. (cf. the principal parts of strong
verbs in 3.6.6 above):

vilja — vill — vilja — vili — vildi — vildi — viljat
vera — er — eru — sé — var — váru — væri — verit

In addition to the above, there is a small group of common verbs

that have regular strong present tense forms, but a past whose root
undergoes radical change, metamorphosing to initial consonant(s) +
er or ør, to which weak endings are attached. The pp. has the same
root as the infinitive and the -

in participial suffix of a strong verb. The

verbs concerned are

gnúa ‘rub’, gróa ‘grow’, róa ‘row’, sá ‘sow’, snúa

‘turn’. Two examples will suffice (citing the same principal parts as
for the preterite presents above).

róa — rœr — róa — rói — reri/røri — reri/røri — róit
snúa — sn‡r — snúa — snúi — sneri/snøri — sneri/snøri — snúit

Finally, the principal parts of

valda ‘cause’, gøra/gera ‘do’ ‘make’,

hafa ‘have’ and ver›a ‘become’ are given, the first because it is highly
irregular (with strong forms in the present, a radically altered root and
weak endings in the past), the latter three because they are extensively
used in a variety of constructions (

hafa and ver›a often as auxiliaries)

and exhibit certain forms that may not be wholly transparent. For

valda,

gøra/gera and hafa, with weak pasts, it is enough to cite inf., 3rd sg.
pres. indic., 3rd sg. past indic. and subj., and pp. (for

gøra/gera with

root vowel change only in the pp. fewer forms would in fact do); for
ver›a, the full complement of strong verb principal parts is given (cf.
3.6.6). The pp. is in each case in the strong nom./acc. n. sg. form.

valda —— veldr —— olli —— ylli —— valdit
gera —— gerir —— ger›i —— ger›i —— gƒrt
hafa —— hefr/hefir —— haf›i —— hef›i —— haft
ver›a —— ver›r —— var› —— ur›u —— yr›i —— or›it

Verb inflexions and their function

155

3.6.7 Preterite presents and other irregular verbs — Exercise

1. What is the meaning of the term ‘preterite present’?
2. What inflexional features characterise preterite present verbs?
3. What function do many preterite present verbs have?
4. Study the principal parts of

kunna (above), and then give the follow-

ing forms: 2nd person sg. and pl. present indic., 1st pl. present
subj., 3rd pl. past indic. and subj.

5. What forms do

vilja and vera have in common with preterite present

verbs?

6. What is unusual about the inflexion of (a)

gróa, (b) valda, (c) hafa?

3.6.8 Examples of verb usage

Following the same procedure as for other word classes, examples are
now given of verbs in function. With the vast range of verbal forms
and functions that exists, only a selection can be illustrated, with the
emphasis on the most common types. Equally, because so many dif-
ferent features are involved — person and number, tense, mood, voice,
-

sk forms, periphrastic constructions — and several features combine

in the one verb phrase, it has proved difficult to order the examples in
any meaningful way. Note that the verbal inflexions being illustrated
(or the whole word where there is no difference from the root of the
infinitive or an inflexion cannot easily be discerned) are printed in
bold type. To underline the grammatical relations involved, bold is
also used for the subject, which triggers the person and number form
in the verb. Compare the inflexions used below with those set out and
discussed in 3.6.5, 3.6.6 and 3.6.7.

(1)

Hann b‡r fer› sína ok fór til Nóregs
‘He prepares journey

REFL

POSS

. and went to Norway’

‘He gets ready to depart and went to Norway’

B‡r is 3rd sg. present indic. of the strong verb búa (minor type). Fór is 3rd sg.
past indic. of the strong verb

fara (type 6). Indicative is used because factual

statements are being made about what happened. The abrupt change from
present to past tense is characteristic of Old Norse prose style.

156

Morphology and syntax

(2)

Jarl svarar ok ba› konung gefa sér frest at hugsa ﬂetta mál

‘Earl answers and bade king give self respite to consider this
matter’
‘The earl answers and asked the king to give him time to
consider this matter’

Svarar is 3rd sg. present indic. of the weak verb svara (type 2). Ba› is 3rd sg.
past indic. of the strong verb

bi›ja (type 5, but with root i in the inf. and

present tense, see 3.6.9.1 point (5)). Indicative is used in both cases because
factual statements are being made about what happened.

Gefa is an infinitive,

a complement of

ba›; it has no overt subject, but konung, the object of ba›,

functions as covert (understood) subject (i.e. it is the king who is to do the
giving; see further (24) below and 3.9.4).

Hugsa is likewise an infinitive, a

complement of

frest; again there is only a covert subject: the earl (i.e. it is he

who is to do the considering).

(3)

ﬁorfinnr vissi eigi, at Brúsi haf›i upp gefit ríki sitt
‘ﬁorfinnr knew not that Brúsi had up given realm

REFL

POSS

.’

‘ﬁorfinnr did not know that Brúsi had surrendered his realm’

Vissi is 3rd sg. past indic. of preterite present vita. Haf›i is 3rd sg. past indic.
of weak

hafa (type 3, but irregular, see 3.6.7); together with the pp. gefit, from

gefa (strong type 5), it forms a so-called ‘past perfect’ construction, the equiva-
lent of English ‘had given’ (the strong nom./acc. n. sg. form of the pp., when
used in perfect and past perfect constructions, is known as the supine, see
3.9.7.1). On the use of the indicative mood, see (1) and (2) above.

(4)

Skil›usk ﬂeir me› kærleikum
‘They parted with friendship’

Skil›usk is 3rd pl. past indic. of weak skilja (type 1) with the -sk suffix (skil›u
+

sk). On the use of the indicative, see (1) and (2) above. Skilja means ‘sepa-

rate’ ‘divide’; the -

sk form imparts a reciprocal sense: ‘they separated (from)

each other’.

(5)

Eptir ﬂat sefask Rƒgnvaldr
‘After that Rƒgnvaldr calms down’

Sefask is 3rd sg. present indic. of weak sefa (type 2) with the -sk suffix (sefar
+

sk with assimilation rs > ss and simplification ss > s in unstressed position

(see 3.6.5.3)). On the use of the indicative, see (1) and (2).

Sefa means ‘soothe’

Verb inflexions and their function

157

‘calm’; the -

sk form is probably in origin a reflexive (‘calms himself’), but it

can also be conceived as passive (‘is soothed’), and thus illustrates how the
function of the -

sk form could develop from reflexive to passive.

(6)

Sumir menn segja, at hann hafi fallit
‘Some men say that he has fallen’

Segja is 3rd pl. present indic. of weak segja (type 3, but with vowel change in
the past tense, see 3.6.9.2 point (5)).

Hafi is 3rd sg. present subj. of weak hafa

(see (3)); together with supine

fallit, from falla (strong minor type), it forms a

perfect construction (see (3)). Observe the difference between the use of the
indicative and subjunctive: that ‘men say’ is what the writer reports as fact;
that ‘he has fallen’ is not what the writer says, but what he claims other people
say, and thus from the writer’s point of view no longer a statement of fact.

(7)

Ef ﬂú vill eigi gerask minn ma›r, ﬂá er sá annarr kostr, at

ek setja ﬂann mann yfir Orkneyjar, er ek vil.

‘If you will not make-

sk my man, then is that other choice,

that I put that man over Orkneys whom I want’

‘If you are not willing to become my man, then the alterna-

tive is that I put whatever man I want in charge of the Ork-
neys’

Vill is 2nd sg. present indic. of weak vilja (type 1, but irregular, see 3.6.7 and
3.6.9.1 point (11)); together with inf.

gerask, -sk form of weak gera ‘do’ ‘make’

(type 3, but irregular, see 3.6.7), it forms a modal construction (see 3.6.3).
Gerask has a different meaning from gera, though the origin of the sense
‘become’ can probably be sought in the reflexive ‘make oneself’.

Er is 3rd sg.

present indic. of irregular

vera (3.6.7). Setja is 1st sg. present subj. of weak

setja (type 1, but with no vowel alternation between present and past, see
3.6.9.3).

Vil is 1st sg. present indic. of vilja (see above); here, too, it functions

as a modal, although not accompanied by an overt infinitive (the sense, how-
ever, is ‘whom I want to put’). Observe the difference between the use of the
indicative and subjunctive. In present tense conditional sentences beginning
with

ef ‘if’ (see 3.8.2.4) the indicative is normally used even though no state-

ment of fact is being made, hence

vill. In the independent sentence which

follows there is hardly a recording of fact either, rather a statement of the
situation that will obtain if the condition is not fulfilled, but such sentences,
too, have the indicative.

Setja, however, denotes a wholly hypothetical action,

and is accordingly subjunctive. With

vil we are once again back with the

indicative: the speaker’s will is presented as real and immediate.

158

Morphology and syntax

(8)

Hann tók til or›a ok gneri nefit
‘He took to words and rubbed nose-the’
‘He started to speak and rubbed his nose’

Tók is 3rd sg. past indic. of strong taka (type 6, but with root e in the pp., see
3.6.9.1 point (4)).

Gneri is 3rd sg. past indic. of irregular gnúa (3.6.7). Both

statements are factual and the indicative is therefore used.

(9)

Váru sumir drepnir, sumir á braut reknir
‘Some were killed, some driven away’

Váru is 3rd pl. past indic. of irregular vera (3.6.7); together with the pp.s
drepnir and reknir, from drepa and reka (both strong type 5), it forms passive
constructions, the equivalent of English ‘were killed’, ‘(were) driven’ (in such
constructions the pp. inflects as a strong adj. (see 3.6.4), here nom. m. pl.,
agreeing with the subjects

sumir . . . sumir). For the use of the indicative, see

(1) and (2).

(10)

Hefir ﬂú eigi heyrt ﬂat, at ek em ekki vanr at bœta ﬂá menn

fé, er ek læt drepa

‘Have you not heard that, that I am not accustomed to com-

pensate those men with-money whom I let kill’

‘Have you not heard that I am not accustomed to paying com-

pensation for the men I cause to be put to death’

Hefir is 2nd sg. present indic. of weak hafa (type 3, but irregular, see 3.6.7);
together with the supine

heyrt, from heyra (weak type 3), it forms a perfect

construction (see (3)).

Em is 1st sg. present indic. of irregular vera (3.6.7).

Bœta is an infinitive, a complement of vera vanr ‘be accustomed’; its covert
subject is the

ek of the finite sentence: ek em ekki vanr (see (2)). Læt is 1st sg.

present indic. of strong

láta (minor type); it acts here as an auxiliary, and

together with the infinitive (

drepa, strong type 5) forms a construction with

the sense ‘cause to be killed’ ‘have killed’. Indicative is used throughout be-
cause nothing is presented as unreal or hypothetical; after verbs meaning ‘hear’,
‘learn’, ‘discover’, etc., the indicative is almost always found, the truth value
of what is ‘heard’ being taken for granted; the unwillingness of the speaker to
pay compensation and his propensity to have people killed are in no doubt.

(11)

Nor›menn ok Danir herju›u mjƒk í vestrvíking ok kómu

optliga vi› eyjarnar, er ﬂeir fóru vestr e›a vestan, ok námu
ﬂar nesnám

Verb inflexions and their function

159

‘Norwegians and Danes harried much in west-viking and

came often to islands-the when they went west or from-west,
and took there headland-plunder’

‘Norwegians and Danes made many raiding expeditions to

the West and often called by the Orkneys when they were
going west or (returning) east and plundered the headlands’

Herju›u is 3rd pl. past indic. of weak herja (type 2). Kómu, fóru and námu are
likewise 3rd pl. past indic., of strong

koma (historically type 4, but highly

irregular, see 3.6.9.3),

fara (type 6) and nema (type 4). On the use of the

indicative, see (1) and (2).

(12)

Fyrir ofdrambs sakar haf›i hann villzk ok snúizk ífrá gu›i

‘For arrogance sake had he bewildered-

sk and turned-sk from

God’

‘Because of arrogance he had gone astray and turned from God’

Haf›i is 3rd sg. past indic. of weak hafa (type 3, but irregular, see 3.6.7);
together with the -

sk supines villzk and snúizk (< villt + sk, from weak type 3

villa, snúit + sk, from irregular snúa (3.6.7), both with ts written ‘z’) it forms
past perfect constructions (see (3)). Both the -

sk forms are in origin probably

reflexives (‘led himself astray’, ‘turned himself’). On the use of the indica-
tive, see (1) and (2).

(13)

Muntu ok eigi vilja vita ﬂat á ﬂik, at ﬂú liggir hér sem kƒttr

í hreysi, ﬂar er ek berjumk til frelsis hvárumtveggjum

‘Will-you also not want know that onto you, that you lie

here like cat in cranny, there where I fight-

sk for freedom

for-both’

‘You will also not want to be accused of lying here like a cat

in a cranny while I fight for the freedom of both of us’

Muntu (either munt + ﬂú with assimilation tﬂ > tt and simplification tt > t after
another consonant or

mun + ﬂú with loss of -t ending before ﬂú and partial

assimilation

nﬂ > nt, see 3.2.1) is 2nd sg. present indic. of preterite present

munu; together with infinitives vilja (weak type 1, but irregular, see 3.6.7,
3.6.9.1 point (11)) and

vita (preterite present) it forms a double modal con-

struction (i.e. two modal verbs ‘will [future]’ and ‘want to’ are involved).
Liggir is 2nd sg. present subj. of strong liggja (type 5, but irregular, see 3.6.9.3).
Berjumk is 1st sg. present of weak berja (type 1) with the -umk suffix (which

160

Morphology and syntax

replaces -

sk in the 1st sg.). The -sk form of berja is in origin reciprocal (‘beat

each other’), but it comes to have the more general meaning ‘fight’ — in
which ‘each other’ may or may not be understood. Of the three finite verbs in
this example one is indic., one subj. and one indeterminate on the basis of
form:

mun(t) records what the speaker presents as fact, whereas liggir refers

to a hypothetical event;

berjumk is almost certainly indic. since the speaker is

in no doubt about the fighting in which he will be involved.

(14)

Hverr veit, nema ek ver›a ví›a frægr
‘Who knows, but-that I become widely famous’
‘Who knows whether I may not become famous far and wide’

Veit is 3rd sg. present indic. of preterite present vita. Ver›a is 1st sg. present
subj. of strong

ver›a (type 3, but irregular, see 3.6.7). The first sentence con-

tains a direct present-tense question introduced by an interrogative pronoun
(

hverr) and, like all sentences of this type, has a verb in the indicative. The

second sentence is introduced by the conjunction

nema which automatically

triggers a subjunctive verb-form since it presupposes a hypothetical situation.

(15)

Bei›ir ﬂá Einarr, at Rƒgnvaldr skyli rá›ask til fer›ar me›

ﬂeim
‘Requests then Einarr that Rƒgnvaldr shall set-out

-sk on

journey with them’
‘Einarr then requests that Rƒgnvaldr should set out on the
journey with them’

Bei›ir is 3rd sg. present indic. of weak bei›a (type 3). Skyli is 3rd sg. present
subj. of preterite present

skulu; together with inf. rá›ask, -sk form of strong

rá›a ‘advise’, ‘rule’ (minor type), it forms a modal construction (see 3.6.3).
Rá›ask has various meanings, mostly different from those of rá›a; the semantic
development can often be hard to trace.

Bei›ir is indic. because it denotes

what the writer regards as fact;

skyli, in contrast, refers to what Einarr wants

to happen, but which may or may not take place.

(16)

ﬁá hru›usk skip ﬂeira Sigur›ar ok Magnúss
‘Then cleared-

sk ships their Sigur›r’s and Magnús’s’

‘Then Sigur›r’s and Magnús’s ships were cleared of men’

Hru›usk is 3rd pl. past indic. of hrjó›a (strong type 2) with the -sk suffix. The
sense of -

sk here is clearly passive: some agency cleared the ships (i.e. killed

those on board) but the goal of the action, ‘ships’, has been made subject and
the agent is left unexpressed. On the use of the indicative, see (1) and (2).

Verb inflexions and their function

161

(17)

Var› engi uppreist ímóti konungi gƒr
‘No rebellion was made against the king’

Var› is 3rd sg. past indic. of strong ver›a (type 3, but irregular, see 3.6.7);
together with

gƒr, pp. of gøra/gera (weak type 3, but irregular, see 3.6.7), it

forms a passive construction (see (9)).

Ver›a, as well as vera, may be used as

the equivalent of English ‘be’ in passive verb phrases (see further 3.9.7.2). On
the use of the indicative, see (1) and (2).

(18)

ﬁó at ﬂú ver›ir rei›r, ﬂá mældu fátt
‘Though that you become angry, then speak-you little’
‘Though you become angry, yet say little’

Ver›ir is 2nd sg. present subj. of strong ver›a (type 3, see 3.6.7). The conjunc-
tion

ﬂó at or ﬂótt (3.8.2.2), which introduces the first sentence, automatically

triggers a subjunctive verb-form since it mostly presupposes a hypothetical
situation.

Mældu (mæl + ﬂú, with partial assimilation lﬂ > ld, see 3.2.1) is the

imperative of

mæla (weak type 3) with the subject pronoun attached; it ex-

presses an instruction.

(19)

Eigi vil ek, at ﬂit hittizk optarr
‘Not want I that you [dual] meet-

sk more-often’

‘I do not want you two to meet again’

Vil is 1st sg. present indic. of weak vilja (type 1, but irregular, see 3.6.7, 3.6.9.1
point (11)). As a modal auxiliary, it is regularly followed by an inf., but here
that is replaced by the dependent sentence

at ﬂit hittizk. Hittizk is 2nd pl. present

hitta (weak type 3) with the -sk suffix (›s being written ‘z’). The sense of -sk

here is reciprocal: ‘meet each other’. The mood of the verb cannot be deduced
from the form, but it is almost certainly subj., determined by the sense of the pre-
ceding independent sentence: that which is wanted or wished for is hypothetical.

(20)

Ætla›a ek ﬂá, at ek mynda hvergi ﬂess koma, at ek mynda

ﬂess gjalda, at ek væra of fri›samr vi› óvini mína, en nú
geld ek ﬂess, er ek hefi ﬂér gri› gefit

‘Thought I then, that I would nowhere of-that come that I

would for-that pay, that I was too peaceful towards enemies
my, but now pay I for-that, that I have to-you quarter given’

‘I never thought then I would get into a situation where I

would pay for being too easy on my enemies, but now I am
paying for having given you quarter’

162

Morphology and syntax

Ætla›a is 1st sg. past indic. of weak ætla (type 2). Mynda is 1st sg. past subj.
of preterite present

munu; together with infinitives koma (strong type 4 his-

torically, but highly irregular, see 3.6.9.3) and

gjalda (strong type 3, see 3.6.5.2)

it forms modal constructions (3.6.3).

Væra is 1st sg. past subj. of irregular

vera (3.6.7). Geld is 1st sg. present indic. of strong gjalda (see above). Hefi is
1st sg. present indic. of weak

hafa (type 3, but irregular, see 3.6.7); together

with supine

gefit, from gefa (strong type 5), it forms a perfect construction

(see (3)). The three subjunctives,

mynda (twice) and væra, all depend on ætla›a

in the independent sentence: this is what the speaker thought would happen,
but events have proved him wrong. With

geld, we are back to statements the

speaker presents as factual.

(21)

Hann veitti allri hir› sinni bæ›i mat ok mungát, svá at menn

ﬂyrfti eigi í skytning at ganga

‘He gave all his retainers both food and ale, so that men would

not need to go to an inn’

Veitti is 3rd sg. past indic. of weak veita (type 3). ﬁyrfti is 3rd pl. past subj. of
preterite present

ﬂurfa; together with inf. ganga (strong minor type) it forms a

modal construction (see 3.6.3). Indic.

veitti is used in what the writer presents

as a statement of fact. The subjunctive

ﬂyrfti suggests a purpose rather than a

result sentence:

svá at ‘so that’ can mean either ‘in order that’ or ‘with the

result that’ (see 3.8.2.2); the former is putative, normally requiring the subj.,
the latter factual, normally requiring the indic.

(22)

Ef hann væri heill at sumri, sag›i hann, at ﬂeir skyldi finnask
‘If he were hale at summer, said he, that they should find-

sk’

‘If he were alive when summer came, he said, they should meet’

Væri is 3rd sg. past subj. of irregular vera (3.6.7). Sag›i is 3rd sg. past indic.
of weak

segja (type 3, but with vowel change in the past tense, see 3.6.9.2

point (5)).

Skyldi is 3rd pl. past of preterite present skulu; together with inf.

finnask, -sk form of strong finna ‘find’ (type 3, but irregular, see 3.6.9.2 point
(2), 3.6.9.3), it forms a modal construction (see 3.6.3). The -

sk form has recip-

rocal sense: ‘find each other’, and thus ‘meet’. Indicative

sag›i presents what

the writer regards as fact, namely that ‘he’ said the accompanying sentences.
Væri conforms to the usage whereby past tense verbs in conditional sentences
are almost always subjunctive (even when, as here, the condition is ‘open’,
i.e. may or may not be fulfilled, and the past tense form is simply the reported
speech equivalent of direct: ‘if I am alive when summer comes’). The mood
of

skyldi cannot be deduced from the form, but it is certainly subj., referring to

hypothetical circumstances dependent on the indirect-speech condition of

hann væri heill at sumri.

Verb inflexions and their function

163

(23)

Mun samﬂykki okkart mest, at vit innimsk lítt til um ﬂann

ﬂri›jung landa

‘Will concord our [dual] greatest, that we allude-

sk little to

about that third of-lands’

‘Our concord will be greatest if we make little mention of

that third of the country’

Mun is 3rd sg. present indic. of preterite present munu; vera ‘be’, with which
it forms a modal construction, is omitted but understood (see 3.9.5.2).

Innimsk

is 1st pl. present subj. of weak

inna (type 3) with the -sk suffix (innim + sk).

The -

sk form is in origin reciprocal: ‘speak to each other’. Indicative mun

expresses what the speaker regards as certain, subjunctive

innimsk the hypo-

thetical situation he envisages.

(24)

Kalla›i hann sér gefit hafa verit ﬂat ríki
‘Called he to-self given have been that realm’
‘He said that that realm had been given to him’

Kalla›i is 3rd sg. past indic. of weak kalla (type 2). Gefit is the pp. of strong
gefa (type 5), acc. n. sg., agreeing with ﬂat ríki; together with verit, supine of
irregular

vera (3.6.7), it forms a passive construction (see (9)). Verit for its

part joins with inf.

hafa (weak type 3, but irregular, see 3.6.7) to form a per-

fect. We thus have a non-finite perfect passive construction. The lack of a
finite verb arises because the complement of

kalla›i is what is known as an

‘accusative and infinitive’ clause — one that takes the object of the matrix
verb as its subject. This is all somewhat complex, so a detailed analysis is now
offered:

kalla›i (finite verb), hann (subject), ﬂat ríki (direct object of kalla›i

and subject of

gefit), gefit hafa verit (non-finite perfect passive construction),

sér (indirect object of the infinitive clause, but coreferential with the subject
of the independent sentence); a semi-literal translation is: ‘he said that realm
to have been given to himself’. (Some would argue that

sér is subject of the

infinitive clause and

ﬂat ríki object. These theoretical considerations need not

concern the learner, but see 3.9.3. On acc. + inf. clauses, see further 3.9.4.)

(25)

ﬁér skulu› nú frá mér ﬂess mest njóta, er ﬂér gáfu› mér líf

ok leitu›u› mér slíkrar sœm›ar sem ﬂér máttu›

‘You [pl.] shall now from me that most enjoy, that you [pl.]

gave me life and sought for-me such honour as you [pl.] could’

‘What chiefly benefits you now as far as I am concerned is

that you gave me my life and tried to show me as much hon-
our as you could’

164

Morphology and syntax

Skulu› is 2nd pl. present indic. of preterite present skulu; together with inf.
njóta (strong type 2) it forms a modal construction (see 3.6.3). Gáfu› is 2nd
pl. past indic. of strong

gefa (type 5). Leitu›u› is 2nd pl. past indic. of weak

leita (type 2). Máttu› is 2nd pl. past indic. of preterite present mega; although
not accompanied by an overt infinitive, it functions as a modal (the sense is
‘as you could show me’). The indic. is used throughout because everything
said is perceived by the speaker as factual.

3.6.8 Examples of verb usage — Exercise

1. In what different ways may the passive voice be expressed in Old

Norse?

2. What are the principal factors that govern the choice between in-

dicative and subjunctive?

3. What are the principal functions of the -

sk form as revealed in the

above examples?

4. What is meant by a ‘covert subject’? Give an example.
5. In which of the above examples do modal constructions (modal

auxiliary + inf.) occur? List all that you find.

6. In which of the above examples do passive constructions occur?

List all that you find.

7. In which of the above examples do perfect and past perfect con-

structions occur? List all that you find.

8. Explain the following forms (i.e. state what inflexion or inflexions

they have and the reasons for the inflexion(s)):

sefask in example

(5),

hafi fallit (6), váru drepnir (9), læt drepa (10), haf›i snúizk

(12),

hru›usk (16), ver›ir (18), mældu (18), væri (22), máttu› (25).

3.6.9 Important variations in verb inflexion

Difficulties in recognising verb-forms for what they are arise more
from the irregularity of the principal parts than from the endings. Cer-
tainly, verb endings show the same degree of overlap and ambiguity
as those of nouns and adjectives (3.1.6, 3.3.7), but they carry less
meaning. Since in Old Norse the subject is virtually always expressed
(unlike, say, in Latin or Italian), the endings are largely redundant for
the purposes of denoting person and number. Thus in

hann drap tvá

menn ‘he killed two men’, we know that drap is 3rd sg. because that is
the person and number of

hann, the subject.

Verb inflexions and their function

165

Other parts of the verbal system are equally transparent. Those who

have studied the preceding sections will not fail to recognise

hann

haf›i drepit tvá menn ‘he had killed two men’ as a past perfect con-
struction and

tveir menn váru drepnir ‘two men were killed’ as pas-

sive. The -

sk suffix is also hard to confuse with any other ending (though

occasional uncertainty may arise when it appears in its -

st, -zt mani-

festations).

Less easy to spot is the difference between indicative and subjunc-

tive mood. To get this right consistently the student will have to be
familiar with the relevant endings, but quite often it is enough to recog-
nise the form of the root (contrast

hann drap ‘he killed [indic.]’ with

ﬂótt hann dræpi ‘though he killed [subj.]’). How far it is essential to
know whether a verb-form is indicative or subjunctive will depend on
the context. As the examples in 3.6.8 show, the choice between the
moods is sometimes automatic, sometimes dependent on meaning,
though the differences of meaning can often be subtle and difficult to
render in English.

In the light of these considerations, the deviations from the estab-

lished patterns of verbal inflexion to be concentrated on here are chiefly
those affecting principal parts. The presentation will be divided into
three major sections. First, deviations that follow phonological rules
the student can apply; second, unpredictable deviations that affect a
group of verbs; third, idiosyncratic deviations.

3.6.9.1 Phonological variation

(1) In general,

v is lost before rounded vowels. Strong type 3 ﬂverra

‘decrease’,

verpa ‘throw’, for example, have 3rd pl. past indic. ﬂurru,

urpu (past subj. root ﬂyrr-, yrp-) and pp.s ﬂorrinn, orpinn (cf. also
ver›a, 3.6.7). Strong type 4 vefa ‘weave’ has pp. ofinn. Strong type 6
va›a ‘wade’, vaxa ‘grow’ have 3rd sg. and pl. past indic. ó› — ó›u,
óx — óxu (past subj. root œ›-, irregular eyx- or yx-).

(2) Strong verbs with vowel +

g as the basic root have, or may have,

a long monophthong and no

g in the past sg. indic. Type 1 stíga ‘step’,

for example, has 3rd sg. past indic.

sté or steig, type 2 fljúga ‘fly’ has

fló or flaug, type 5 vega ‘kill’ vá, type 6 draga ‘drag’ dró.

(3) Strong verb roots that end in -

d, -nd and -ng undergo change to

t, -tt and -kk respectively in the imperative and the past sg. indic.

166

Morphology and syntax

Type 3

binda ‘bind’ (on root vowel i, see 3.6.9.2 point (2)), gjalda

‘pay’, for example, have imp.

bitt, gjalt, 3rd sg. past indic. batt, galt;

minor types

ganga ‘walk’, halda ‘hold’ have imp. gakk, halt, 3rd sg.

past indic.

gekk, helt (sometimes regular imp. forms are encountered

— in the above cases:

bind, gjald, gang, hald).

(4) Pp.s of type 6 and minor type strong verbs normally undergo

front mutation of the root vowel when the root ends in -

g or -k, e.g.

dreginn from draga, genginn from ganga, tekinn from taka ‘take’.

(5) Present roots of type 6 strong verbs undergo front mutation of

the root vowel when

j occurs before endings consisting of or begin-

ning with

a or u, e.g. hefja ‘lift’, sverja ‘swear’, 3rd sg. past indic. hóf,

sór (see (1) above). Note also that the same conditions give root vowel
i instead of e in type 5 strong verbs, e.g. bi›ja ‘ask’, sitja ‘sit’.

(6) Pp.s of type 3 and 4 strong verbs have root vowel

u rather than o

when the immediately following consonant is

m or n, e.g. bundinn

from

binda ‘bind’, sprunginn from springa ‘spring’ ‘burst’, unninn

(see (1) above) from

vinna ‘work’ (on root vowel i, see 3.6.9.2 point

(2)),

numinn from nema ‘take’.

(7) Weak verbs undergo a number of consonantal assimilations and

simplifications when the past tense and participial suffixes -

›, -d, -t

are added. Such phonological adjustments are not restricted to verbs,
but are found elsewhere in the language (see 3.1.7.4 point (1), 3.3.8.4
point (2), 3.3.8.5 point (2)). Verbs whose root ends in consonant +

›, d

t do not add a further ›, d or t to mark the past-tense or participial/

supine suffix, e.g.

vir›a — vir›i — vir›r ‘value’, senda — sendi —

sendr ‘send’, svipta — svipti — sviptr ‘deprive’. This applies equally
when the root ends in

tt, e.g. rétta — rétti — réttr ‘straighten’ ‘stretch

out’. Verbs whose root vowel is immediately followed by

› show

assimilation

›d > dd in the past tense and past participle, e.g. ey›a

— eyddi — eyddr ‘destroy’, gle›ja — gladdi — gladdr ‘gladden’. The -t
ending of the nom./acc. n. sg. of the pp. regularly amalgamates with
the participial suffix (by processes of simplification or assimilation
and simplification; see further 3.3.8.4 point (2) and 3.3.8.5 point (2)),
e.g.

flutt (< flutt + t) from flytja ‘convey’, kastat (< kasta› + t) from

kasta ‘throw’, sent (< send + t) from senda, leyst (< leyst + t) from
leysa ‘loosen’, ‘resolve’, hitt (< hitt + t) from hitta ‘meet’.

(8) As with nouns and adjectives (3.1.7.5 point (2), 3.3.8.5 point

(4)), the vowels of endings tend to be dropped when they immediately

Verb inflexions and their function

167

follow a long vowel of the same or similar quality. Thus weak type 3
trúa ‘believe’, for example, has a 1st pl. present indic. form trúm
(< *

trúum)’, deyja ‘die’ 3rd pl. past indic. dó (< *dóu), fá ‘get’ 1st pl.

present indic.

fám (< *fáum), sjá ‘see’ pp. sénn (< *séinn) (these last three

verbs are highly irregular and their principal parts are listed in 3.6.9.3).

(9) As with adjectives,

t is lengthened when immediately following

long, stressed vowels. Thus the 2nd sg. past indic. of strong type 1
stíga ‘step’ (see (2) above) is stétt, of búa ‘prepare’, ‘dwell’ (3.6.9.3)
bjótt.

(10) Strong verbs whose root ends in -

› or -t suffer changes to these

consonants in the 2nd sg. past indic. The

› assimilates to the -t ending

(cf. (7) above), e.g.

reitt, from strong type 1 rí›a ‘ride’. Where the root

ends in -

t, the usual ending is -zt, e.g. bazt, from strong type 3 binda

‘bind’ (3rd sg. past indic.

batt, see (3) above; on root vowel i see

3.6.9.2 point (2)),

lézt, from strong minor type láta ‘let’. This latter

change affects preterite present

vita ‘know’ too (2nd sg. present indic.

veizt). Some verbs with root final -› may have the -zt ending as an
alternative to -

tt, e.g. bazt or batt from strong type 5 bi›ja (on root

vowel

i, see 3.6.9.1 point (5)). Some with root final -t may as an

alternative add

t in the normal way, e.g. létt from láta (see above), or

have the same form as the 1st and 3rd sg. past indic., e.g.

helt from

strong minor type

halda ‘hold’ (see (3) above). Strong verbs with root

final -

st have zero ending in the 2nd sg. past indic., e.g. laust from

strong type 2

ljósta ‘strike’.

(11) As in the case of nouns and adjectives (3.1.7.4 point (1), 3.3.8.4

point (1)), an -

r ending may sometimes be assimilated to an immedi-

ately preceding

l, n or s, e.g. 3rd sg. present indic. vill (< *vilr), from

irregular weak type 1 (3.6.7)

vilja ‘want’, skínn (< *skínr) from strong

type 1

skína ‘shine’, les(s) (< *lesr) from strong type 5 lesa ‘gather’, ‘read’.

(12) The 2nd sg. past indic. -

t ending of strong verbs is often dropped

when the 2nd person pronoun immediately follows, e.g.

gekkt ﬂú or

gekk ﬂú ‘you went’, tókt ﬂú or tók ﬂú ‘you took’.

(13) The 1st pl. -

m ending is often dropped when the 1st person dual

or pl. pronoun immediately follows, e.g.

tƒkum vit or tƒku vit ‘we two

take’,

tókum vér or tóku vér ‘we took’.

(14) The 2nd pl. -

› ending is often dropped when the 2nd person

dual or pl. pronoun in the form

ﬂit, ﬂér immediately follows, e.g. taki›

ﬂit or taki ﬂit ‘you two take’, tóku› ﬂér or tóku ﬂér ‘you took’.

168

Morphology and syntax

(15) The 3rd sg. present indic. -

r ending of the verb ﬂyk(k)ja ‘seem’

is often dropped when the dat. of the 1st or 2nd person sg. pronoun
immediately follows, e.g.

ﬂyk(k)ir mér or ﬂyk(k)i mér ‘it seems to me’.

3.6.9.2 Morphological variation

(1) A few strong verbs of type 2 have present tense root vowel

rather than

jó or jú, e.g. lúta ‘bend down’, súpa ‘sip’.

(2) Several strong verbs of type 3 have present tense root vowel

rather than

e or ja, and a few have y or ø, e.g. binda ‘bind’, finna

‘find’,

syngva/syngja (see (6) below) ‘sing’, søkkva ‘sink’. The verbs

with present tense

i and y have root vowel u in the pp. (see 3.6.9.1

point (6)); those with present

y and ø have root vowel ƒ in the past sg.

indic., e.g.

sƒng ‘sang’, sƒkk ‘sank’.

(3) Some weak verbs of type 1 and type 3 have pp.s like those of

type 2, e.g.

huga›r (or hug›r) from hyggja ‘think’ ‘intend’, viljat from

vilja ‘want’, ﬂorat from ﬂora ‘dare’. Many type 1 verbs have alterna-
tive pp. forms with connecting vowel

-i-, e.g. bar›r or bari›r ‘beaten’.

Because the nom./acc. n. sg. of the

i-forms is identical with the

nom./acc. n. sg. of the pp. of strong verbs (

barit ~ farit), we also get

analogical ‘strong’ pp.s of type 1 weak verbs, e.g.

barinn nom. m. sg.

(4) A few weak verbs of type 3 have an -

i ending in the imperative

as well as zero, e.g.

vak or vaki from vaka ‘keep awake’. The imp. of

ﬂegja ‘stay silent’ is always ﬂegi.

(5) The type 3 weak verbs

segja ‘say’ and ﬂegja (3rd sg. pres. indic.

segir, ﬂegir) have root vowel a in the past indic., e in the past subj.,
like type 1 verbs (3rd sg.

sag›i, ﬂag›i, seg›i, ﬂeg›i respectively).

(6) As with nouns and adjectives (3.1.7.5 point (4), 3.3.8.5 point (5)),

may be found in some verbs before endings consisting of or beginning
in

a or u; in others v may be found before endings consisting of or

beginning in

a or i. With most verbs such insertions are found only in

connection with the present root, but type 2 weak verbs have them through-
out the paradigm. Examples are:

svíkja ‘betray’ (strong type 1) — 1st pl.

present indic.

svíkjum — 3rd pl. past indic. sviku, syngva ‘sing’ (strong

type 3, on root vowel

y, see 3.6.9.2 point (2)) — 3rd pl. present subj.

syngvi — 3rd pl. past subj. syngi, berja ‘strike’ (weak type 1) — 1st sg.
past indic.

bar›a, eggja ‘incite’ (weak type 2) — 3rd pl. past indic. eggju›u

Verb inflexions and their function

169

— supine

eggjat, bƒlva ‘curse’ (weak type 2) — 3rd pl. past indic.

bƒlvu›u — supine bƒlvat. Note that strong verbs with v insertion and y
in the present tense root may alternatively have

j insertion (e.g. syngja).

3.6.9.3 Idiosyncratic variation

A number of common verbs are irregular in varying degrees. While it
would be possible to offer historical explanations for their irregularity
and, where this has not already been done, assign them to one or other
of the weak and strong types, it is easier for the learner simply to list
their principal parts. For strong verbs inf., 3rd sg. and pl. past indic.
and supine are given, for weak verbs inf., 3rd sg. past indic. and supine.
Forms that cannot easily be deduced from these are described in the
notes that follow, as are other peculiarities.

Strong verbs

blóta —— blét —— blétu —— blótit

‘sacrifice’

breg›a —— brá —— brug›u —— brug›it

‘move’

búa —— bjó —— bjoggu —— búit

‘prepare’, ‘dwell’

deyja —— dó —— dó —— dáit

‘die’

draga —— dró —— drógu —— dregit

‘drag’

drekka —— drakk —— drukku —— drukkit

‘drink’

eta —— át —— átu —— etit

‘eat’

fá —— fekk —— fengu —— fengit

‘get’

fela —— fal —— fálu —— folgit

‘hide’

finna —— fann —— fundu —— fundit

‘find’

flá —— fló —— flógu —— flegit

‘flay’

fregna —— frá —— frágu —— fregit

‘ask’, ‘learn’

frjósa —— frøri —— frøru —— frørit

‘freeze’

ganga —— gekk —— gengu —— gengit

‘walk’

hanga —— hekk —— hengu —— hangit

‘hang’

heita —— hét —— hétu —— heitit

‘be called’, ‘promise’

hlæja —— hló —— hlógu —— hlegit

‘laugh’

hƒggva —— hjó —— hjoggu —— hƒggvit

‘strike’, ‘kill’

kjósa —— køri —— køru —— kørit

‘choose’

koma —— kom —— kómu —— komit

‘come’

170

Morphology and syntax

liggja —— lá —— lágu —— legit

‘lie’

sjá —— sá —— sá —— sét

‘see’

slá —— sló —— slógu —— slegit

‘hit’

sofa —— svaf —— sváfu —— sofit

‘sleep’

standa —— stó› —— stó›u —— sta›it

‘stand’

sveipa —— sveip —— svipu —— sveipit

‘wrap’

svima —— svam —— svámu —— sumit

‘swim’

tro›a —— tra› —— trá›u —— tro›it

‘tread’

tyggva —— tƒgg —— tuggu —— tuggit

‘chew’

ﬂiggja —— ﬂá —— ﬂágu —— ﬂegit

‘accept’

ﬂvá —— ﬂó —— ﬂógu —— ﬂvegit

‘wash’

Weak verbs

heyja —— há›i —— há(i)t

‘perform’, ‘conduct’

kaupa —— keypti —— keypt

‘buy’

leggja —— lag›i —— lagt

‘lay’ ‘put’

ljá —— lé›i —— lét

‘lend’ ‘grant’

selja —— seldi —— selt

‘hand over’, ‘sell’

setja —— setti —— sett

‘set’ ‘place’

sœkja —— sótti —— sótt

‘seek’, ‘attack’

yrkja —— orti —— ort

‘work’, ‘make poetry’

ﬂreyja —— ﬂrá›i —— ﬂrát

‘long for’

ﬂykkja —— ﬂótti —— ﬂótt

‘seem’

Búa has past subj. root bjƒgg-, bjøgg- or bygg-.
Frjósa and kjósa have weak endings in the past sg. indic. Both alter-

natively have strong type 2 forms (

fraus — frusu — frosit, kaus —

kusu — kosit).

Hanga has a connecting vowel i in the present sg. indic. (e.g. vápnit

hangir ‘the weapon hangs’), as does heita in the sense ‘be called’.
Hanga lacks front mutation in the relevant forms.

Koma, sofa, and tro›a have certain alternative forms. Present sg.

indic. root:

kem- or køm-, sef- or søf-, tre›- or trø›-; past pl. indic. root

kvám-, sóf- (past subj. root is either kœm- or kvæm-, svæf- or sœf-).

Svima has an alternative inf. symja, and an alternative strong type 3

paradigm (with root final

mm): svimma — svamm — summu — summit.

For the present tense of

sjá, which has highly irregular inflexions,

see p. 175.

Verb inflexions and their function

171

3.6.9.1/3.6.9.2/3.6.9.3 Phonological variation/Morphological varia-
tion/Idiosyncratic variation — Exercise

1. Explain the following forms: 3rd pl. past indic.

ur›u, from ver›a;

1st sg. past indic.

hné, from hníga; imp. statt, from standa; pp.

ekit, from aka.

2. Why can

sverja (past indic. root sór-) be said to belong to the same

strong verb type as

fara (past indic. root fór-)?

3. Which pp.s of type 3 and 4 strong verbs have root vowel

u rather

than

4. What is the past tense root of weak verbs

benda, hitta, myr›a and

skipta, and why?

5. What is the past tense root of weak verbs

fœ›a and ry›ja, and

why?

6. Give the 1st pl. present indic. of

búa.

7. Give the 2nd sg. past indic. of strong verbs

láta and slá, and the

2nd sg. present indic. of preterite present

vita.

8. Give the 3rd sg. present indic. of

fregna, skilja, vaxa.

9. Enumerate the different present tense roots of type 2 and type 3

strong verbs.

10. What variations does the imperative form exhibit?
11. In what way are the paradigms of

frjósa and kjósa unusual?

12. Give the principal parts of

koma and sofa, including all alternative

forms.

3.6.10 Examples of verb inflexion

Complete paradigms of selected verbs are now given. As with adjec-
tives, Old Norse grammars tend to be somewhat parsimonious in their
exemplification of verbs. To be sure, most forms likely to be
encountered can be identified using the guidance provided in the pre-
ceding sections, but this can often be a long and arduous process for
the novice. The present grammar therefore gives more paradigms than
strictly necessary, but not so many, one hopes, that the student is over-
whelmed and unable to see the wood for the trees. To illustrate the
main patterns, two strong verbs are displayed, one with root-final

(

skjóta) and one with root a (fara), and three weak, one of each type

(

berja, ﬂakka, brenna). In addition, a preterite present verb, mega, is

172

Morphology and syntax

presented, and

vera and sjá, since not only are these two irregular and

extremely common, but certain of their forms are easily confused.
Finally, the paradigms of one strong (

fara) and one weak verb (berja)

are repeated with the -

sk suffix added. Finite forms precede non-finite.

The past participle is given in the nom./acc. n. sg. form. Rather than
the abstract ‘1st sg.’ etc., pronouns are used to indicate person and
number;

hann ‘he’ is used for the 3rd sg., vér for the 1st pl., ﬂér for the

2nd pl.,

ﬂeir for the 3rd pl. The imperative is always 2nd sg. (cf. 3.6.3).

Strong verb (type 2): skjóta ‘shoot’

Present indicative

Present subjunctive

sk‡t

skjóta

ﬂú

sk‡tr

ﬂú

skjótir

hann sk‡tr

hann skjóti

vér

skjótum

vér

skjótim

ﬂér

skjóti›

ﬂér

skjóti›

ﬂeir

skjóta

ﬂeir

skjóti

Past indicative

Past subjunctive

skaut

skyta

ﬂú

skauzt

ﬂú

skytir

hann skaut

hann skyti

vér

skutum

vér

skytim

ﬂér

skutu›

ﬂér

skyti›

ﬂeir

skutu

ﬂeir

skyti

Imperative

skjót

Infinitive

skjóta

Present participle

skjótandi

Past participle

skotit

Verb inflexions and their function

173

Strong verb (type 6): fara ‘go’

Present indicative

Present subjunctive

fer

fara

ﬂú

ferr

ﬂú

farir

hann ferr

hann fari

vér

fƒrum

vér

farim

ﬂér

fari›

ﬂér

fari›

ﬂeir

fara

ﬂeir

fari

Past indicative

Past subjunctive

fór

fœra

ﬂú

fórt

ﬂú

fœrir

hann fór

hann fœri

vér

fórum

vér

fœrim

ﬂér

fóru›

ﬂér

fœri›

ﬂeir

fóru

ﬂeir

fœri

Imperative

far

Infinitive

fara

Present participle

farandi

Past participle

farit

Weak verb (type 1): berja ‘beat’

Present indicative

Present subjunctive

ber

berja

ﬂú

berr

ﬂú

berir

hann berr

hann beri

vér

berjum

vér

berim

ﬂér

beri›

ﬂér

beri›

ﬂeir

berja

ﬂeir

beri

Past indicative

Past subjunctive

bar›a

ber›a

ﬂú

bar›ir

ﬂú

ber›ir

hann bar›i

hann ber›i

vér

bƒr›um

vér

ber›im

ﬂér

bƒr›u›

ﬂér

ber›i›

ﬂeir

bƒr›u

ﬂeir

ber›i

Imperative

ber

Infinitive

berja

Present participle

berjandi

Past participle

bart/barit

174

Morphology and syntax

Weak verb (type 2): ﬂakka ‘thank’

Present indicative

Present subjunctive

ﬂakka

ﬂú

ﬂakkar

ﬂú

ﬂakkir

hann ﬂakkar

hann ﬂakki

vér

ﬂƒkkum

vér

ﬂakkim

ﬂér

ﬂakki›

ﬂér

ﬂakki›

ﬂeir

ﬂakka

ﬂeir

ﬂakki

Past indicative

Past subjunctive

ﬂakka›a

ﬂú

ﬂakka›ir

ﬂú

ﬂakka›ir

hann ﬂakka›i

vér

ﬂƒkku›um

vér

ﬂakka›im

ﬂér

ﬂƒkku›u›

ﬂér

ﬂakka›i›

ﬂeir

ﬂƒkku›u

ﬂeir

ﬂakka›i

Imperative

ﬂakka

Infinitive

ﬂakka

Present participle

ﬂakkandi

Past participle

ﬂakkat

Weak verb (type 3): brenna ‘burn’ (transitive)

Present indicative

Present subjunctive

brenni

brenna

ﬂú

brennir

ﬂú

brennir

hann brennir

hann brenni

vér

brennum

vér

brennim

ﬂér

brenni›

ﬂér

brenni›

ﬂeir

brenna

ﬂeir

brenni

Past indicative

Past subjunctive

brennda

ﬂú

brenndir

ﬂú

brenndir

hann brenndi

vér

brenndum

vér

brenndim

ﬂér

brenndu›

ﬂér

brenndi›

ﬂeir

brenndu

ﬂeir

brenndi

Imperative

brenn

Infinitive

brenna

Present participle

brennandi

Past participle

brennt

Verb inflexions and their function

175

Irregular verb: vera ‘be’

Present indicative

Present subjunctive

sjá/sé

ﬂú

ert

ﬂú

sér

hann er

hann sé

vér

erum

vér

sém

ﬂér

eru›

ﬂér

sé›

ﬂeir

eru

ﬂeir

sé

Past indicative

Past subjunctive

var

væra

ﬂú

vart

ﬂú

værir

hann var

hann væri

vér

várum

vér

værim

ﬂér

váru›

ﬂér

væri›

ﬂeir

váru

ﬂeir

væri

Imperative

ver

Infinitive

vera

Present participle

verandi

Past participle

verit

Irregular verb: sjá ‘see’

Present indicative

Present subjunctive

sé

sjá

ﬂú

sér

ﬂú

sér

hann sér

hann sé

vér

sjám/sjóm

vér

sém

ﬂér

sé›

ﬂér

sé›

ﬂeir

sjá

ﬂeir

sé

Past indicative

Past subjunctive

sá

sæa

ﬂú

sátt

ﬂú

sæir

hann sá

hann sæi

vér

sám

vér

sæim

ﬂér

sá›

ﬂér

sæi›

ﬂeir

sá

ﬂeir

sæi

Imperative

sé

Infinitive

sjá

Present participle

sjándi

Past participle

sét

176

Morphology and syntax

Preterite present verb: mega ‘be able to’ ‘be allowed to’ ‘can’

Present indicative

Present subjunctive

má

mega

ﬂú

mátt

ﬂú

megir

hann má

hann megi

vér

megum

vér

megim

ﬂér

megu›

ﬂér

megi›

ﬂeir

megu

ﬂeir

megi

Past indicative

Past subjunctive

mátta

mætta

ﬂú

máttir

ﬂú

mættir

hann mátti

hann mætti

vér

máttum

vér

mættim

ﬂér

máttu›

ﬂér

mætti›

ﬂeir

máttu

ﬂeir

mætti

Imperative

lacking

Infinitive

mega

Present participle

megandi

Past participle

mátt/megat

Strong verb (type 6): farask ‘perish’

Present indicative

Present subjunctive

fƒrumk

ﬂú

fersk

ﬂú

farisk

hann fersk

hann farisk

vér

fƒrumsk

vér

farimsk

ﬂér

farizk

ﬂér

farizk

ﬂeir

farask

ﬂeir

farisk

Past indicative

Past subjunctive

fórumk

fœrumk

ﬂú

fórzk

ﬂú

fœrisk

hann fórsk

hann fœrisk

vér

fórumsk

vér

fœrimsk

ﬂér

fóruzk

ﬂér

fœrizk

ﬂeir

fórusk

ﬂeir

fœrisk

Infinitive

farask

Past participle

farizk

Verb inflexions and their function

177

Weak verb (type 1): berjask ‘fight’

Present indicative

Present subjunctive

berjumk

ﬂú

bersk

ﬂú

berisk

hann bersk

hann berisk

vér

berjumsk

vér

berimsk

ﬂér

berizk

ﬂér

berizk

ﬂeir

berjask

ﬂeir

berisk

Past indicative

Past subjunctive

bƒr›umk

ber›umk

ﬂú

bar›isk

ﬂú

ber›isk

hann bar›isk

hann ber›isk

vér

bƒr›umsk

vér

ber›imsk

ﬂér

bƒr›uzk

ﬂér

ber›izk

ﬂeir

bƒr›usk

ﬂeir

ber›isk

Infinitive

berjask

Past participle

barzk/barizk

Imperatives and present participles with the -

sk suffix are uncom-

mon and in many verbs unattested. To the extent they occur, they will
be found to consist of the basic form +

sk, e.g. dvelsk ‘stay!’, dveljandisk

‘staying’, from

dvelja (weak type 1).

3.6.10 Examples of verb inflexion — Exercise

Identify the verb-forms printed in bold in the following sentences. If
the form is non-finite, state whether it is an infinitive, present or past
participle, and, if either of the latter, give the case, gender and number.
If the form is finite, give its person (1st, 2nd or 3rd), number (sg. or
pl.), tense (pres. or past), mood (indic., subj. or imp.) and voice (act.
or pass.). In all cases, say what type of verb is involved (strong type X,
weak type X, preterite present, etc.), and list its principal parts. Finally,
comment, as appropriate, on the syntactic function and semantic role
of the verb-forms, paying due attention to any with the -

sk suffix.

(1)

Fóru vinir á milli ok leitu›u um sættir

‘Went friends be(-)tween and sought for settlement’
‘Friends intervened and tried to get a settlement’

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Morphology and syntax

(2)

Hann hljóp fyrir bor› ok svam til lands ok bjó svá um
í hvílu sinni, at

ﬂar s‡ndisk, sem ma›r lægi

‘He jumped over side and swam to land and arranged thus
around in bed

REFL

POSS

., that there showed-

sk as man lay’

‘He jumped overboard and swam to shore and arranged his
bed in such a way that it looked as though a man lay there’

(3)

‘Eigi veit ek ﬂat’, segir Skarphe›inn

‘“Not know I that”, says Skarphe›inn’
‘“I don’t know about that”, says Skarphe›inn’

(4)

Heyrt hefi ek, at ﬂér hafi› kvisat í milli y›var, at ek
væra ekki lítill ma›r vexti

‘Heard have I that you have whispered a(-)mong you that I
was not little man in-stature’
‘I have heard you whispering among yourselves that I was
not a little man in stature’

(5)

ﬁetta ﬂótti ƒllum rá›ligt, ok var ﬂetta heit fest

‘This seemed to-all advisable, and was this vow made’
‘This seemed a good idea to everyone, and this vow was made’

(6)

Eigi vil ek, at ﬂit sé› missáttir

‘Not want I that you-two are discordant’
‘I don’t want you two to be on bad terms’

(7)

ﬁeir vƒr›usk vel um hrí›

‘They defended themselves well for a while’

(8)

ﬁeir sjá, hvar tveir menn gengu frá skálanum

‘They see where two men went from hall-the’
‘They see two men going from the hall’

(9)

Hann haf›i tvau skip ok jafnmarga menn, sem mælt
var

‘He had two ships and equally-many men as stipulated was’
‘He had two ships and as many men as was stipulated’

(10)

En ﬂví næst laust ﬂú mik me› hamrinum ﬂrjú hƒgg

‘But to-that next hit you me with hammer-the three blows’
‘But then you hit me three blows with the hammer’

Verb inflexions and their function

179

(11)

Væntir hann ﬂess, at ﬂú mynir honum gri› gefa, ef
kastalinn ver›r unninn

‘Hopes he that, that you will to-him quarter give if castle-
the is won’
‘He hopes that you will spare his life if the castle is taken’

(12)

Ver kátr bóndi, ok grát eigi

‘Be cheerful, farmer, and cry not’
‘Cheer up, master, and don’t cry’

(13)

Átján váru drepnir, en tólf ﬂágu gri›

‘Eighteen were slain, and twelve received pardon’

(14)

Ósœmt er, at líkamr fœ›isk ok klæ›isk ítarliga, en hinn
i›ri ma›r sé óprú›r ok missi sinnar fœzlu

‘Unseemly is that body feeds-

sk and clothes-sk finely, but the

inner man is unadorned and lacks

REFL

POSS

. food’

‘It is unseemly that the body is finely fed and clothed, but the
inner man is unadorned and goes without his food’

(15)

En ek á nú nor›r lei› til fjalla ﬂessa, er nú munu ﬂér sjá
mega

‘But I have now northwards path to mountains these which
now will you see be-able’
‘But my path now lies northwards to these mountains which
you will now be able to see’

(16)

Ek vil, at vit takim menn til gør›ar me› okkr

‘I want that we-two take men for arbitration between us-two’
‘I want us to choose men to arbitrate between us’

(17)

Eigi er ﬂat kynligt, at ﬂér undrizk ﬂetta

‘Not is that strange that you wonder-at-

sk this’

‘It is not strange that you are amazed at this’

(18)

Hann haf›i loganda brand í hendi

‘He had a flaming brand in his hand’

(19)

Heyr ﬂú dróttinn bœn ﬂá, er ﬂræll ﬂinn bi›r ﬂik í dag,
at augu ﬂín sé upp lokin ok eyru ﬂín heyrandi yfir hús
ﬂetta dag ok nótt

180

Morphology and syntax

‘Hear you, Lord, prayer that which servant your asks you
to(-)day, that eyes your be up opened and ears your hearing
over building this day and night’
‘Hear, O Lord, the prayer which your servant asks of you to-
day, that your eyes be opened and your ears listening over this
building day and night’

(20)

Fyrir hví reiztu ﬂessu hrossi, er ﬂér var bannat?

‘For why rode-you this horse which to-you was forbidden?’
‘Why did you ride this horse which was forbidden to you?’

(21)

Ma›rinn heilsar ﬂeim ok spyrr, hverir ﬂeir væri

‘The man greets them and asks who they were’

(22)

Vel má ek gøra ﬂat til skaps fƒ›ur míns at brenna inni
me› honum, ﬂví at ek hræ›umk ekki dau›a minn

‘Well can I do that for pleasure of-father my to burn inside
with him, therefore that I fear-

sk not death my’

‘I can happily please my father by burning alive in the house
with him, because I do not fear death’

(23)

Lézk ﬂar Adam byskup, ok var líkit lítt brunnit, er
fannsk

‘Lost-

sk there Adam bishop, and was body-the little burnt when

found-

sk’

‘Bishop Adam died there, and his body was scarcely burnt
when it was found’

(24)

Sér ﬁórr ﬂá, at ﬂat haf›i hann haft of nóttina fyrir skála

‘Sees ﬁórr then that that had he had during night-the for house’
‘Then ﬁórr sees that that was what he had been using during
the night as a house’

(25)

Hann skyldi halda sætt ok fri› vi› ﬂá menn alla, er í
ﬂessi rá›agør› hƒf›u vafizt

‘He should keep truce and peace with those men all who in
this plot had entangled-

sk’

‘He was to keep the peace agreement with all the men who
had become embroiled in this plot’

Prepositions

181

3.7 Prepositions

Prepositions are non-inflecting words that appear in conjunction with
noun phrases and together with them form sentence elements known
as preposition phrases. English examples, with the preposition given
in bold, are: with

John, in town, for two weeks, about them.

Usually a preposition will immediately precede its noun phrase, al-

though in Old Norse other words may occasionally intervene (e.g. —
with the preposition phrase given in bold —

nú ræ›r ﬂú, hversu ﬂú

skalt vi› una ﬂitt ørendi ‘now decide you how you shall with be-con-
tent your mission [i.e. now it is up to you what satisfaction you derive
from your mission]’). Where the noun phrase comes first, as can also
happen in Old Norse, the term ‘preposition’ is often replaced by the
more precise ‘postposition’ (e.g. mælti nú engi ma›r ﬂví í móti ‘no
man now spoke against it’, with

ﬂví ‘it’ preceding í móti ‘against’).

Although prepositions do not themselves inflect, in many languages

they determine the case of the noun phrase they are used in conjunc-
tion with, and are thus said to ‘govern’ it (cf.

about them above, not

*about they).

Typically prepositions convey concepts like time, place, possession,

instrumentality. This means that many preposition phrases are
adverbials (cf. 3.5.4). In the English sentence

John did it during the

interval, for example, during the interval answers the question ‘when?’
and is reducible to the adverb

then. Similarly, outside the shop in we

met outside the shop answers the question ‘where?’ and can be re-
duced to the adverb

there. Some prepositions, however, simply act as

connectors between verb and noun phrase: contrast English

he visited

them with American he visited with them.

Old Norse has about thirty common prepositions, several of which

occasionally function as postpositions. They trigger accusative, geni-
tive and dative case in the noun phrases they govern, but never nomi-
native. Some always trigger the same case, some trigger two, and one
even three; among the second group, difference of case usually im-
plies a difference of meaning.

In the following, the chief Old Norse prepositions are presented,

ordered according to the case or cases they trigger. A selective range
of their principal meanings is given, together with examples of usage.
It should be noted, however, that prepositional usage is often very

182

Morphology and syntax

idiomatic, and one-to-one equivalence between the prepositions of Old
Norse and English is not to be expected. ON

at, for example, shares

with English

at a common form, origin and spatial sense, but appro-

priate English equivalents — as well as ‘at’ — can be ‘against’, ‘to’,
‘along’, ‘around’, ‘near’, ‘by’, ‘in’ and ‘on’, to name but some.

Observe that prepositions with initial

á, í, um may also be found

written as single words, e.g.

áme›al, ímóti, umfram.

3.7.1 Prepositions triggering the accusative

(í) gegnum ‘through’

Hallbjƒrn lag›i í gegnum skjƒldinn
‘Hallbjƒrn thrust through shield-the’
‘Hallbjƒrn thrust his spear through the shield’

(a) [motion] ‘over’ ‘across’

Hann fór su›r of fjall
‘He went south across the mountain’

(b) ‘during’ ‘in’

Of aptan, er myrkt var, ﬂá . . .
‘In evening when dark was, then . . .’
‘In the evening when it was dark, then . . .’

Occasionally

of is construed with the dative case, either in sense (b) or with

the locational meaning ‘over’ ‘above’ (e.g.

konungr sat of bor›i ‘the king sat

over [i.e. at] table’). The latter usage is one

of shares with the prepositions um

and

yfir (see below). In most functions of and um are interchangeable, and of

was more or less ousted by

um, and to a lesser extent yfir, in the course of the

thirteenth century.

um (a) [motion] ‘around’ ‘over’ ‘across’

Slógu ﬂeir ﬂá hring um ﬂá
‘Threw they then ring around them’
‘Then they encircled them’

Prepositions

183

(b) ‘during’ ‘in’

ﬁeir váru ﬂar um nóttina
‘They were there during the night’

ﬁeir tƒlu›u ﬂá um málit
‘They spoke then about the matter’

of, um may occasionally be construed with the dative, either in sense (b)

or, rarely, with the locational meaning ‘over’ ‘above’.

um fram ‘beyond’ ‘above’ ‘more than’

ﬁat er ﬂakt me› ísum, umfram ƒll ƒnnur hƒf
‘It is covered with ice, more than all other seas’

umhverfis ‘around’

Gengr hann umhverfis skemmuna
‘He walks around the hut’

Apart from the above, there is a series of complex prepositions that

trigger the accusative, made up of

fyrir and a following adverb with

the -

an suffix (cf. 3.5.1). These indicate position relative to another

(fixed) position, e.g.

fyrir vestan hafit ‘west of the sea’, fyrir ne›an

kné ‘below the knee’ (further examples under 3.5.1). Sometimes the
order

fyrir + -an adverb may be reversed, but it should be noted that

while, e.g.,

fyrir ofan always means ‘above’, ofan fyrir has two mean-

ings: ‘above’ and ‘down past’ ‘down along’; in the latter sense it is not
a complex preposition but a sequence of adverb + preposition (see
3.7.4,

fyrir).

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Morphology and syntax

3.7.2 Prepositions triggering the genitive

innan ‘within’

Innan kastalans var eitt munklífi
‘Within the castle was a monastery’

Occasionally

innan may be construed with the accusative or dative.

(á/í) me›al ‘among’ ‘between’

Hann settisk ni›r á me›al ﬂeirra
‘He sat (himself) down between them’

(á/í) milli/millum ‘among’ ‘between’

Ríki gu›s er y›ar í milli
‘The kingdom of God is among you’

Each of the three above prepositions can denote time as well as location (e.g.
innan lítils tíma ‘within a short time’, milli jóla ok fƒstu ‘between Christmas
and Lent’).

til

(a) ‘to’ ‘towards’

Hann fór vestr um haf til ﬁorfinns jarls
‘He went west over the sea to Earl ﬁorfinnr’

(b) ‘regarding’ ‘concerning’

ﬁeim var› gott til manna
‘To-them became good regarding men’
‘They managed to gather together a good many men’

Helt hertoginn ƒllu sínu ríki til dau›adags
‘Kept duke-the all

REFL

POSS

. dominion till death-day’

‘The duke kept all his lands until the day he died’

Prepositions

185

Somewhere between a preposition phrase and a preposition stands

fyrir . . . sakar/sakir/sƒkum, fyrir sakar/sakir/sƒkum ‘because of’ ‘re-
garding’, which triggers the genitive (e.g.

fyrir sára sakir ‘because of

wounds’,

fyrir vits sakir ‘as regards intelligence’, fyrir sakar ﬂess ‘for

that reason’).

3.7.3 Prepositions triggering the dative

(a) ‘off’ ‘from’

Rƒgnvaldr jarl kom af hafi vi› Hjaltland
‘Rƒgnvaldr earl came off sea at Shetland’
‘Earl Rƒgnvaldr landed in Shetland’

While

af in this sense can simply denote [source] — where someone/something

comes from — it often correlates with prepositions meaning ‘on’, first and
foremost

á: that which is ‘on’ something can come ‘off’ it (cf. the above

example where Rƒgnvaldr has been on the sea sailing to Shetland).

(b) [time] ‘(gone) from’

ﬁrjár vikur váru af sumri
‘Three weeks were from summer’
‘Three weeks of summer were gone’

ﬁorfinnr haf›i mikinn hluta af Skotlandi
‘ﬁorfinnr had a big part of Scotland’

(d) [in passive constructions] ‘by’

Ek em sendr hingat af Starka›i
‘I am sent hither by Starka›r’

(e) [cause] ‘of’ ‘from’ ‘because of’

Inn nør›ri hlutr liggr óbygg›r af frosti ok kul›a
‘The northern part lies uninhabited because of frost and cold’

186

Morphology and syntax

(a) ‘at’ ‘to’ ‘towards’

Hleypr Kolr ﬂá at honum
‘Kolr then runs at him’

(b) ‘at’ ‘in’

Eigi má ek hér vera at h‡b‡lum mínum
‘Not can I here be at home my’
‘I cannot stay here at my home’

The above uses of

at can be temporal as well as locational (e.g. lei› at kveldi

‘it passed on to evening’,

at jólum gaf jarl honum gullhring ‘at Christmas the

earl gave him a gold ring’). In addition

at can signify future time (e.g. at vári

‘next spring’ ‘when spring comes’).

Ari nam marga frœ›i at ﬁurí›i
‘Ari gained much knowledge from ﬁurí›r’

(d) ‘according to’

Óláfi var gefit konungs nafn at upplenzkum lƒgum

‘To-Óláfr was given king’s name according-to Upplandic
laws’
‘Óláfr was declared king in accordance with the laws of
Uppland’

At + acc. in the sense ‘after’ (particularly ‘after someone’s death’) may also
be encountered (e.g.

sonr á arf at taka at fƒ›ur sinn ‘a son is to take inheritance

after his father’). Historically this appears to be a different preposition from

+ dat., probably an assimilated form of

apt, related to eptir (see below).

frá (a) ‘from’

ﬁau róa frá skipinu
‘They row from the ship’

Prepositions

187

(b) ‘concerning’ ‘about’

Er mér svá frá sagt konungi
‘Is to-me thus about said king’
‘I am told so about the king’

As distinct from

af, frá does not correlate with particular locational preposi-

tions, but denotes source or origin of any kind. It can have temporal as well as
locational function (e.g.

frá ﬂessum degi ‘from this day’).

gagnvart/gegnvart ‘opposite’

Skipa›i Hrútr honum gagnvart sér
‘Hrútr placed him opposite himself’

(í) gegn (a) ‘against’

Mestr hluti manna mælti honum í gegn
‘Most part of-men spoke him against’
‘Most of the men spoke against him’

(b) ‘towards’

Hann rí›r út í gegn ﬂeim
‘He rides out towards them’

hjá (a) ‘at someone’s (house)’

Var hann á gistingu hjá ﬁóri
‘Was he on night-stay at ﬁórir’s’
‘He was staying the night at ﬁórir’s’

(b) ‘close to’ ‘next to’ ‘by’

Konungr ba› hann sitja hjá sér
‘The king bade him sit by him’

188

Morphology and syntax

Gengr kona hjá ﬁormó›i
‘A woman walks past ﬁormó›r’

(d) ‘compared with’

ﬁórr er lágr ok lítill hjá stórmenni ﬂví, er hér er me› oss

‘ﬁórr is short and small compared with the big men who are
here with us’

In sense (a) and, to a certain extent, (b), ON

hjá corresponds to French chez.

(á/í) mót(i) (a) ‘against’

Mælti ﬂá ok engi ma›r í mót honum
‘Spoke then also no man a(-)gainst him’
‘And indeed no man then spoke against him’

(b) ‘towards’

Gengu tveir menn í móti ﬂeim
‘Two men walked towards them’

nær ‘near’

Austma›rinn kvezk vilja fyrir hafa land ok ﬂó nær sér
‘Easterner-the says-

sk want for-it have land and yet near self’

‘The Norwegian says he wants to have land in exhange for
it, but near him’

Nær can have temporal as well as locational sense (e.g. nær aptni ‘near
evening’). Since

nær is in origin an adverb, it has comparative and superlative

forms (cf. 3.5.2), and occasionally these are also used with prepositional func-
tion (e.g.

nær(r) honum ‘nearer him’, næst hinum fremstum ‘closest to the

foremost (people)’).

Prepositions

189

ór/úr ‘out of’ ‘from’

Hann haf›i í brot komizk ór brennunni
‘He had a(-)way come-

sk out-of burning-the’

‘He had escaped from the burning’

Ór often correlates with prepositions meaning ‘inside’ ‘within’; in the above
example the escape was made from within a burning building.

undan ‘away from’

Ek get ﬂess, at ﬂú vilir eigi renna undan ﬂeim
‘I guess that, that you want not run away-from them’
‘I do not imagine you want to run away from them’

Where one entity is moving and another following or due to follow in orderly
fashion,

undan corresponds to English ‘ahead of’ ‘before’ (e.g. fara undan

ﬂeim ‘go ahead of them’).

Also used with the dative is a series of constructions — with a wide

range of meanings — consisting of preposition + various forms of the
noun

hƒnd. Like fyrir . . . sakar etc. (cf. 3.7.2), preposition + hƒnd

constructions stand somewhere between a preposition phrase and a
preposition. Among the most common are:

á hƒnd/hendr ‘against’, til

handa ‘for’ ‘on behalf of’ (e.g. fara á hendr Rƒgnvaldi jarli ‘go against
[i.e. attack] Earl Rƒgnvaldr’,

bi›ja konu til handa honum ‘ask woman

for him [i.e. ask for a woman in marriage on his behalf]’).

3.7.4 Prepositions triggering the accusative and dative

Prepositions in this category are construed with the accusative or dative
largely according to sense. The principal distinction is between motion
(usually towards some goal) and location (rest), the former triggering
the accusative, the latter the dative. Only

eptir, me› and vi› are unaf-

fected by this dichotomy.

Eptir, together with fyrir, tends to trigger the

accusative when denoting time.

Me› may historically have been

followed only or chiefly by the dative and

vi› by the accusative, but in

190

Morphology and syntax

classical Old Norse the two prepositions have become somewhat mixed
up and the one can rather often be found with the sense and/or case of
the other. In connection with the motion : location dichotomy it is
worth noting first that the movement or rest involved is often denoted
or suggested by a word other than the preposition (usually a verb or
adverb, cf., e.g.,

á + acc. (a) and á + dat. (a) below), and second that an

English speaker’s conception of movement and rest may not always
tally with that of speakers of other languages (cf., e.g.,

ﬂeir sá bo›a

mikinn inn á fjƒr›inn ‘they saw a great breaker [i.e. breaking wave] in
the inlet [literally: (looking) into the inlet]’).

á + acc. (a) ‘onto’ ‘on’ ‘to’

Hann gekk á land
‘He went on land’
‘He went ashore’

(b) ‘during’ ‘at’ ‘in’

Standa ﬂar yfir vƒtn á vetrinn, en á várin . . .
‘Stand there over waters in winter-the, but in springs-the . . .’
‘It is covered with water in the winter, but in the spring . . .’

When used in a temporal sense

á tends to trigger the accusative where the

noun is accompanied by the definite article (contrast dat. (b) below).

Á + acc.

may indicate a point in time as well as a recurring period (e.g.

á laugardaginn

næsta ‘on the next Saturday’).

á + dat. (a) ‘on’ ‘in’

Reri hann yfir á Nes einn á báti
‘Rowed he over to Nes one in boat’
‘He rowed over to Caithness in a boat on his own’

Note the contrast between the accusative

yfir á Nes, where the adverb yfir

indicates motion towards a place, and the dative

á báti, which implies loca-

tion. The verb

reri combines with both senses.

Prepositions

191

(b) ‘during’ ‘at’ ‘in’

Hann gaf Hrómundi gelding hvert haust, en lamb á várum

‘He gave to-Hrómundr wether each autumn, but lamb in
springs’
‘He gave Hrómundr a wether each autumn, but a lamb in the
spring’

Á + dat. may indicate a point in time as well as a recurring period (e.g. á ﬂví
sumri ‘in that summer’).

Lag›i hann í fótinn á honum
‘Thrust he into leg-the on him’
‘He thrust (his weapon) into his leg’

Á in this sense is typically used of body parts, but can also be found in other
contexts (e.g.

allar dyrr á húsunum ‘all the doorways of the buildings’).

eptir + acc. [time] ‘after’

Eptir orrostuna fór hann nor›r til ﬁrándheims
‘After the battle he went north to ﬁrándheimr’

Eptir + acc. can also be used in the sense of ‘after someone’s death’ (e.g. ﬂá
tók hann arf eptir fƒ›ur sinn ‘then he took inheritance after his father’).

eptir + dat. [motion] ‘after’ ‘following’

Hann rei› eptir ﬂeim
‘He rode after them’

The sense ‘following’ can extend to ‘along’ (e.g.

gekk hann aptr eptir skipinu

‘he walked back along the ship’), and to ‘according to’ (e.g.

gekk allt eptir

ﬂví, sem Hallr haf›i sagt ‘everything went according to what [literally: that
which] Hallr had said’).

192

Morphology and syntax

fyrir + acc. (a) [motion] ‘before’ ‘in front of’

Hann kom skildinum fyrir sik
‘He came shield-the before self’
‘He put the shield in front of him’

(b) [directional] ‘over’ ‘past’

ﬁeir drógu hann ofan fyrir brekkuna
‘They dragged him down over the slope’

En litlu fyrir jól fór hann í Papey ina litlu
‘But shortly before Christmas he went to Papa Stronsay’

(d) ‘in return for’ ‘in place of’

ﬁú skalt gjalda fyrir hana ﬂrjár merkr silfrs
‘You shall pay three marks of silver for her (a slave)’

fyrir + dat. (a) [location] ‘before’ ‘in front of’

Var› fundr ﬂeira fyrir Rau›abjƒrgum
‘Took-place meeting their before Rau›abjƒrg’
‘They met off Roberry’

Locational

fyrir has a number of extended meanings. Particularly common

are: (1) ‘in charge of’, developed from the sense ‘in front of’ via the idea of
‘leading’ (e.g.

vera fyrir li›i ‘be in charge of a body of men’), and (2) ‘in the

presence of’, widely used with verbs of speaking (e.g.

mæla fyrir honum ‘say

to [literally: before] him’,

kæra fyrir ﬂeim ‘complain to them’).

(b) ‘ago’

Ek skil›umk vi› Óláf konung fyrir fjórum nóttum
‘I parted from King Óláfr four nights ago’

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193

í + acc. (a) ‘into’ ‘in’ ‘to’

Eigi miklu sí›arr sendir hann menn í Su›reyjar
‘Not much later he sends men to the Hebrides’

Í in the above sense may be used with abstract as well as concrete nouns (e.g.
kominn í allmikla kærleika vi› ‘come into very great friendship with [i.e. be-
come very great friends with]’).

(b) ‘during’ ‘in’ ‘at’

Í ﬂenna tíma kom út Geirrí›r
‘At this time came out Geirrí›r’
‘At this time Geirrí›r came to Iceland’

Í in this temporal sense is commonly used with the words dagr ‘day’ and nótt
‘night’ as well as the names of parts of the day and the seasons to indicate
‘time now’ or ‘time closest to the present’ (e.g.

í nótt ‘tonight’, í kveld ‘this

evening’,

í sumar ‘this summer’).

í + dat. ‘in’

Dval›isk Rƒgnvaldr skamma stund í Nóregi
‘Rƒgnvaldr stayed a short while in Norway’

Í in this sense may be used with abstract as well as concrete nouns (e.g. í
miklum kærleikum vi› ‘in great friendship with’).

me› + acc. ‘with’

Hann fór til Íslands me› konu sína ok bƒrn
‘He went to Iceland with his wife and children’

Me› here implies that ‘he’ took his wife and children to Iceland rather than
simply going together with them (see

me› + dat. (a) below). Because it carries

the notion of ‘control’ over whatever entity one is ‘with’,

me› + acc. is com-

monly found with nouns denoting inanimate objects (e.g.

kom Bár›r eptir

ﬂeim me› horn fullt ‘Bár›r came after them with a full horn’, i.e. carrying a
horn full of drink).

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Morphology and syntax

me› + dat. (a) ‘together with’

Dóttir hans fór me› honum
‘His daughter went with him’

(b) [instrumental] ‘with’

ﬁeir ur›u at verja sik me› sver›um
‘They had to defend themselves with swords’

ﬁri›ju nótt var› gn‡r me› sama hætti
‘Third night happened clamour with same manner’
‘The third night there was a clamour in the same way’

(d) ‘among’

ﬁat er si›r me› kaupmƒnnum, at . . .
‘It is a custom among merchants to . . .’

Case usage after

me› is more fluid than the above examples suggest. In par-

ticular it is not uncommon to find

me› + dat. in what appears to be the ‘control’

sense (cf.

me› + acc. above). As indicated in the preamble to this sub-section,

me› can sometimes take the place of vi›; thus we may attest, for example,
berjask me› + acc. for earlier berjask vi› + acc. ‘fight with’ ‘fight against’,
where the noun phrase following the preposition denotes the goal of the action.

undir + acc. [motion] ‘under’

Lag›i ﬁorfinnr jarl ﬂá undir sik allar Eyjar
‘Laid ﬁorfinnr earl then under self all Islands’

‘Then Earl ﬁorfinnr placed all the Northern Isles under his rule’

undir + dat. [location] ‘under’

ﬁá brast í sundr jƒr›in undir hesti hans
‘Then burst a(-)sunder earth-the under horse his’
‘Then the earth burst open under his horse’

Prepositions

195

In either of the above senses

undir may be used metaphorically (e.g. gefa

undir kirkjuna ‘give to the church’, i.e. with the result that what is given comes
under the church’s control,

undir ﬂeim biskupi eru ellifu hundru› kirkna

‘under that bishop are eleven hundred churches’).

vi› + acc. (a) ‘near’ ‘by’

ﬁeir sátu lengi vi› bakelda
‘They sat long by baking-flames’
‘They sat by the fire warming themselves for a long time’

This use of

vi› may be temporal as well as locational (e.g. vi› sólarsetr ‘at

sunset’,

vi› ﬂetta ‘at this (point)’).

(b) [directional] ‘to’ ‘towards’ ‘vis-

à-vis’

Engu skiptir mik, hversu ﬂú hefir vi› a›ra menn gƒrt
‘By-nothing concerns me how you have to other men done’

‘It does not concern me at all how you have acted towards
other men’

The noun following

vi› in sense (b) denotes the entity at which an action is

directed. The usage is commonly found

inter alia with verbs of saying (e.g.

tala vi› konung ‘speak to the king’). Because of the directional sense, the
noun following

vi› can sometimes have the force of a direct object (the ‘goal

of the action’, cf. 3.1.5, sentence 5). That is particularly the case with phrasal
verbs (those consisting of two or more words), although many of these denote
mental processes rather than actions (e.g.

fara til fundar vi› ‘go to meeting

with’, where the sense is more or less equivalent to the English transitive
phrase

go to meet, ver›a varr vi› ‘become aware of’, equivalent to notice,

vera hræddr vi› ‘be afraid of’, equivalent to fear).

vi› + dat. ‘against’

Hann kasta›i sér ni›r vi› vellinum
‘He threw himself down against the ground’

Sometimes

vi› + dat. may have the related sense ‘towards’ (e.g. horfa vi›

‘look towards’). As noted above,

vi› and me› have become confused, and we

may thus find

vi› + dat. in all the senses of me› + dat. Potential ambiguities

can usually be resolved by examining the sentence in which the preposition

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Morphology and syntax

phrase stands or the wider context (e.g.

slá honum ni›r vi› steininum must

mean ‘throw him down against the rock’ rather than ‘strike him down with
the rock’ because of the dative

honum — cf. (3.1.5, sentence 20) that verbs of

throwing take the dative of the entity thrown).

yfir + acc. [motion] ‘over’ ‘above’

ﬁá tók Ska›i eitrorm ok festi upp yfir hann
‘Then took Ska›i poisonous-snake and fixed up above him’
‘Then Ska›i took a poisonous snake and tied it up above him’

yfir + dat. [location]

Hvers manns alvæpni hekk yfir rúmi hans
‘Each man’s weapons hung above his seat’

In either of the above senses

yfir may be used metaphorically (e.g. hafa vƒxt

yfir a›ra menn ‘have growth beyond [i.e. be taller than] other men’, konungr
yfir Englandi ‘king over England’).

3.7.5 Prepositions triggering the accusative and genitive

The only preposition regularly to trigger both accusative and genitive
is

útan. It has two senses, and either case may have either sense.

útan + acc./gen. (a) ‘outside’

Hann nemr sta› í gar›inum útan hur› klaustrsins
‘He takes stand in yard-the outside door of-convent’
‘He stops in the yard outside the door of the convent’

ﬁeir fóru heldr útan hera›s til kaupa
‘They went rather outside district to tradings’
‘They preferred to go outside the district to trade’

Prepositions

197

(b) ‘without’

Eigi er enn vi› honum tekit útan ﬂitt rá›
‘Not is yet with him taken without your consent’
‘He has not yet been received without your consent’

. . . ef ﬂeir eru útan sætta
‘. . . if they are without a settlement’

3.7.6 Preposition triggering the accusative, genitive and dative

The only preposition to trigger all three cases is

án. The meaning is

the same, irrespective of case.

án + acc./gen./dat. ‘without’

Kristnin mátti eigi vera lengi án stjórnarmanninn
‘The Church could not be long without its leader’

ﬁess máttu Gautar illa án vera
‘That could Gautar ill without be’
‘The people of Gautland could not afford to be without it’

Giptisk hon Valgar›i án rá›i allra frænda sinna

‘Married-

sk she to-Valgar›r without consent of-all kinsmen

REFL

POSS

.’

‘She married Valgar›r without the consent of any of her kins-
men’

3.7.7 Residual remarks

Two further matters concerning Old Norse prepositions should be
noted.

First, they often combine with adverbs, particularly those that indi-

cate direction. Thus a journey to Caithness from Orkney may be

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Morphology and syntax

described as

yfir á Nes, one in the opposite direction as út í Eyjar, and

one into the hinterland of Scotland as

upp í Skotland. Sometimes such

combinations develop idiomatic senses considerably removed from
the meanings of the two elements of which they are made up, e.g.
framan at ‘to the front side of [literally: from the front to]’ (cf. also
3.7.1 on the many combinations of

fyrir + -an adverb). When con-

fronted by an adverb + preposition (or preposition + adverb) sequence
that does not appear to make immediate sense, the student is advised
to look up the adverb first since often it will mainly be this that gives
the sequence its meaning.

Second, prepositions in Old Norse are often converted into adverbs

by the omission of the noun phrase they govern. Sometimes the noun
phrase can be clearly understood from the context (e.g.

hann kom svá

á óvart, at eigi var› fyrr vart vi› en . . . ‘he came so on unawares that
not became before aware of than . . . [i.e. he arrived so unexpectedly
that no one became aware of (him) before . . .]’. In other cases the
reference is less specific (e.g.

ni›amyrkr var á ‘pitch-darkness was on

[i.e. it was pitch-dark]’. Students should be particularly on their guard
against prepositions used adverbially that yet appear to be preposi-
tions because they are immediately followed by a noun phrase (e.g.
hann finnr, at ﬂar var stungit í sver›i Sigmundar ‘he notices that there
was thrust into with-sword of-Sigmundr [i.e. that Sigmundr’s sword
was thrust into it]’, where

sver›i is an instrumental dative (cf. 3.1.5,

sentence 20) and

í belongs with the adverb ﬂar, giving the adverb

phrase

ﬂar í ‘therein’, or, more idiomatically, ‘into it’). As can be seen

from the translation,

ﬂar is here the equivalent of a pronoun, and ﬂar í

therefore effectively a preposition phrase. This type of construction is
very common in Old Norse; mostly it involves

ﬂar, but hér ‘here’ also

occurs (cf.

nú ver›r ﬂar frá at hverfa ‘now becomes there from to turn

[i.e. now we must turn from that]’; . . .

svá bjƒrt, at ﬂar af l‡sti ‘. . . so

bright [n. pl.] that there from shone [i.e. so bright that they shone]’;

ƒll

sannindi hér um ‘all truth here about [i.e. all the truth about this]’).
(See further 3.9.8.3.)

Prepositions

199

3.7 Prepositions — Exercise

1. Define and exemplify ‘preposition’, taking your examples from

Old Norse.

2. Do Old Norse prepositions always immediately precede the noun

phrase they govern?

3. List the prepositions that trigger the accusative, the genitive or the

dative only.

4. How far can case usage after Old Norse prepositions be related to

meaning?

5. What differences, if any, are there between the meanings of

af, frá

and

ór?

6. In what senses and with what cases may

fyrir be used?

7. In what senses and with what cases may

me› be used?

8. What is the difference in meaning between

ofan and fyrir ofan?

9. Which Old Norse prepositions may have temporal sense?
10. Identify the basic meaning of each of the following prepositions

(printed in bold); state, where appropriate, the case of the noun
phrase governed and the reason for the choice of case (where a pre-
position is found to be used adverbially, discuss its relationship
with other words in the sentence):

(a) Var Kálfr ﬂá í miklum kærleikum vi› ﬁorfinn jarl

‘Kálfr was then on very friendly terms with Earl ﬁorfinnr’

(b) Eptir ﬂat sendi ﬁorfinnr menn út í Eyjar

‘After that ﬁorfinnr sent men out to the Orkneys’

‘He complains to them that they intend to advance against him with
an army’

(d) Hann sigldi ﬂegar á haf um nóttina ok svá austr til Nóregs

‘He sailed straight to sea during the night and then east to Norway’

(e) Konungr sat yfir mat

‘The king sat over food’

(f) Var kominn á byrr

‘A fair wind had sprung up’

(g) Hann er jar›a›r at Kristskirkju

‘He is buried at Christ’s Church’

(h) Mƒrg lƒnd haf›i hann lagt undir sik me› herna›i

‘Many countries he had placed under his rule by warfare’

(i) Go›in skƒpu›u ﬂar ór mann

‘The gods created a man out of it’

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Morphology and syntax

3.8 Conjunctions

Conjunctions differ from most other words in that they do not form
part of a sentence, but stand outside it. Their function, as the term
conjunction suggests, is to join constituents together, and the constitu-
ents may be anything from sentences to single sentence elements
(though even the latter can mostly be analysed as reduced sentences).

A distinction is made between coordinating and subordinating

conjunctions. The former join together constituents of the same level,
the latter constituents of different levels. Commonly, coordinating
conjunctions connect independent sentences (also known as matrix
sentences or main clauses), i.e. sentences that can stand on their own
as a complete utterance. The two most frequently occurring coordi-
nating conjunctions in English are

and and but. In:

Peter sat down and poured himself a drink

and connects the sentences Peter sat down and [Peter] poured himself
a drink (in the second sentence Peter is omitted because unless speci-
fied, the subject of

poured will be understood to be the same as the

subject of

sat down). Both these sentences are independent in the sense

that they require nothing further to complete them. The conjunction
but, while introducing an element of contrast not present in and, func-
tions in a similar way. In:

Anne opened the door but did not go in

the sentences joined together are again both independent: (1)

Anne

opened the door; (2) [Anne/she] did not go in.

Subordinating conjunctions typically function as connectors between

independent and dependent sentences, introducing the latter (also
known as embedded sentences or subordinate clauses). Dependent
sentences are those that cannot stand on their own as complete utter-
ances. Examples of subordinating conjunctions in English are

because,

when, if. In:

I like the summer because it is light

because joins the dependent because it is light to the independent

Conjunctions

201

I like the summer. The former, unlike the other sentences so far ad-
duced, is not a complete utterance. To say

because it is light, which

details a reason, requires that we specify the action, event or state to
which the reason applies. Equally, the dependent

when he arrives,

introduced by

when, needs to be completed by an independent sentence

which details an action, event or state that stands in a time relation to
‘his’ arrival, e.g.:

We will eat when he arrives

The conjunction

if introduces the notion of condition: one action, event

or state is conditional upon another. The action/event/state that will/
would take place/ensue if the condition is/were met is expressed as an
independent, the condition as a dependent sentence, e.g.:

Joan will write the letter if you help her

Subordinating conjunctions are often grouped according to their

meaning, and the groups given designations such as ‘causal’ (e.g.
because, since), ‘temporal’ (e.g. when, while), ‘conditional’ (e.g. if,
unless), ‘final’ (e.g. in order that), ‘consecutive’ (so that [i.e. ‘with
the result that’]). As will be seen from these examples, some conjunc-
tions consist of more than one word.

Not all words that introduce dependent sentences have traditionally

been reckoned conjunctions. English

who(m), which and whose are

often termed ‘relatives’ or even ‘relative pronouns’, the latter desig-
nation based on the observation that such words can have the same
function as noun phrases (appearing as subjects and objects of sen-
tences, for example), cf.:

Bill helped the girl who was drunk (subject)

This is a prize which you can win (object)

Whatever other functions they may have, however, it is undeniable
that

who, which in examples like the above (and in similar fashion

whom, whose) join together sentences, and to that extent can be classed
as conjunctions in the same way as

because, when, etc.

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Morphology and syntax

For

who(m), which we may often substitute that in English (. . . that

was drunk, . . . that you can win). A different function of that — like-
wise conjunctional, though, again, not always recognised as such —
is to introduce what are often called

that-clauses. These have a number

of functions, but are often the complements of verbs such as

say, know,

think, suppose, hope, or, in a different type of construction, of be, e.g.:

He said that it was interesting

The upshot was that they all left

In such cases

that is, of course, not interchangeable with who(m), which.

We are dealing here with three fundamentally different types of de-

pendent sentence: (1) those reducible to an adverb (e.g. .

. . when he

arrives = then); (2) those reducible to an adjective (e.g. . . . which you
can win = winnable); (3) those reducible to a noun phrase (e.g. . . . that
it was interesting = it, the (following) thing, etc.). All dependent sen-
tences are reducible in this way, which accounts for their dependent
status. They represent expanded versions of adverbial, adjectival or
nominal elements in independent sentences. Different though the three
main types of dependent sentence may be, it is unhelpful to divide the
words that introduce them into three separate categories since their
common function as dependent sentence introducers is thereby
obscured. In keeping with this view, all Old Norse words that join
sentences together will in the following be treated as conjunctions.

3.8.1 Coordinating conjunctions

The principal coordinating conjunctions in Old Norse are

ok ‘and’

and

en ‘but’ ‘and moreover’ ‘and’. Others are e›a ‘or’ ‘but’, né ‘nor’.

Note further the expanded constructions

bæ›i . . . ok ‘both . . . and’,

annattveggja . . . e›a ‘either . . . or’ and hvárki . . . né ‘neither . . . nor’.
As can be seen from the translations offered, the meanings of Old
Norse coordinating conjunctions are sometimes less clear-cut than those
of their modern English equivalents, and the student may need to
examine carefully the contexts in which they appear in order to
determine the precise meaning.

The following examples illustrate typical usage.

Conjunctions

203

Eptir ﬂat fór ﬁorfinnr jarl til Orkneyja ok sat ﬂar um vetrinn

‘After that went ﬁorfinnr earl to Orkneys and sat there during
winter-the’
‘After that Earl ﬁorfinnr went to the Orkneys and stayed there
over the winter’

ﬁessu játa ﬂeir brœ›r, en Óláfr ferr heim
‘To-this agree those brothers, but Óláfr goes home’
‘The brothers agree to this, but Óláfr goes home’

Lét ek ok ﬂar fé nƒkkut, en ek var leikinn sjálfr há›uliga

‘Lost I also there property some, but I was treated myself
shamefully’
‘I also lost some property there, and moreover I was myself
treated shamefully’

Here

ok appears not as a conjunction, but as an adverb with the sense ‘also’.

For further uses of

ok, see 3.8.2.4 and 3.9.9.

Hvárt sem hann ba› fyrir óvinum e›a hann ávita›i ﬂá . . .
‘Whether that he prayed for enemies or he rebuked them . . . ’
‘Whether he prayed for his enemies or rebuked them . . . ’

Note that the sentences joined by

e›a in this example are both dependent.

Ver vel kominn! E›a hvat mey er ﬂat, er ﬂér fylgir
‘Be well come! Or what maid is that who you follows?’
‘Welcome! But what maid is that who is with you?’

This use of

e›a to bridge two different themes is very common, especially

where the sentence it introduces is a question.

Nú mun fa›ir minn dau›r vera, ok hefir hvárki heyrt til hans
styn né hósta
‘Now will father my dead be, and has neither heard to him
groan nor cough’
‘Now my father must be dead, and neither a groan nor a cough
has been heard from him’

Although

né joins together the two nouns styn and hósta, the second of these can

be seen as a reduced sentence:

hefir hvárki heyrt til hans styn né [hefir heyrt til

hans] hósta.

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Morphology and syntax

3.8.2 Subordinating conjunctions

As is the case with many languages, Old Norse boasts far more subor-
dinating than coordinating conjunctions. The field is so broad, not
least because of the tendency for adverbs to metamorphose into sub-
ordinating conjunctions, that no attempt can be made here to provide
a complete list. For the student the most important thing is in any case
not the meaning of each individual conjunction. That can be looked
up in a dictionary. It is rather to grasp those features of the system that
constantly recur, in particular any which may not be immediately trans-
parent to the learner.

3.8.2.1 The particle er

Old Norse

er is an all-purpose subordinating conjunction. Having lost

any meaning of its own, it is used to introduce a wide variety of de-
pendent sentences, either alone or together with one or more other
words. In order to interpret

er correctly, the student will usually need

to understand clearly the context in which it appears. Consider the
following sentences (where the semantic emptiness of

er is signalled

by the literal rendering

COMP

(= complementiser), indicating a general

complementising — sentence introducing — function):

(a)

Ok ﬂá er ﬂessi or›sending kom aptr til jarls, bjó hann fer›
sína
‘And then

COMP

this message came back to earl, prepared he

journey

REFL

POSS

.’

‘And when this message got back to the earl, he made ready
to leave’

(b)

En er hann kom á Péttlandsfjƒr›, ﬂá haf›i hann ﬂrjá tigi
stórskipa
‘But

COMP

he came into Pentland-Firth, then had he three

tens of-large-ships’
‘And when he got into the Pentland Firth, he had thirty large
ships’

Conjunctions

205

(c)

En um morguninn, er menn váru vakna›ir, var kominn á
byrr
‘And in morning-the,

COMP

men were woken-up, was come

on favourable-wind’
‘And in the morning, when men were awake, a favourable
wind had sprung up’

(d)

Ok er ﬂeir váru búnir, sigldu ﬂeir í haf
‘And

COMP

they were prepared, sailed they to sea’

‘And when they were ready, they sailed out to sea’

(e)

ﬁorfinnr jarl var ﬂá fimm vetra gamall, er Melkólmr Skota-
konungr gaf honum jarlsnafn
‘ﬁorfinnr earl was then five of-winters old

COMP

Melkólmr

king-of-Scots gave him earl’s-name’
‘Earl ﬁorfinnr was five years old when Melkólmr, king of
the Scots, gave him the title of earl’

In (a)

er is immediately preceded by ﬂá, an adverb of time meaning

‘then’. The latter (in conjunction with the tense of the verbs) supplies
past-time sense, while

er introduces the dependent sentence; together

they form a temporal subordinating conjunction with the meaning
‘when [past time]’. (b) has

er as a sentence introducer without pre-

ceding

ﬂá. The sense of the dependent sentence it introduces can, how-

ever, be deduced from the occurrence of the adverb

ﬂá at the beginning

of the following independent sentence: the earl commanded thirty ships
‘then’, i.e. at the point when he entered the Pentland Firth. In (c) the
time adverbial

um morguninn performs much the same function as

ﬂá in (a), even though um morguninn is more obviously than ﬂá part
of the independent sentence that, as it were, ‘frames’ its dependent
partner (

en um morguninn [ . . . ] var kominn á byrr). Past-time sense

is given by the tense of the verbs (

váru, var). (d) lacks any adverbial

that could indicate the sense of

er. Here we must be guided by context,

and the context is a sequence of events occurring at a particular time
in the past. Immediately following (d) is the sentence:

ﬂat var á

ƒndver›um vetri ‘that was at the beginning of winter’. This makes a
temporal interpretation of

er ﬂeir váru búnir the obvious one. (e) is

similar to (b) in that the

er introducing the dependent sentence is

206

Morphology and syntax

rendered unambiguous by the occurrence of

ﬂá ‘then’ in the accom-

panying independent sentence. The difference lies in the order of the
two sentences and in the placing of

ﬂá: in (b) it is the first element in

the independent sentence, in (e) it follows the verb.

The particle

er appears in many temporal contexts. It commonly

combines with the adverbs

me›an ‘meanwhile’, sí›an ‘since’, ﬂegar

‘at once’ (yielding the conjunctions

me›an er ‘while’, sí›an er ‘since’,

ﬂegar er ‘as soon as’), with the adverb phrase ﬂar til ‘thereto’ ‘up to
that point’ (conjunction:

ﬂar til er ‘until’), and with preposition phrase

adverbials (see 3.5.4) such as

eptir ﬂat ‘after that’ (conjunction: eptir

ﬂat er ‘after’), frá ﬂví ‘from that’ (conjunction: frá ﬂví er ‘since’), í ﬂví
‘in that’ (conjunction:

í ﬂví er ‘at the moment when’), til ﬂess ‘to that’

(conjunction:

til ﬂess er ‘until’). In most of these cases (and also with

ﬂá) er can be omitted, and there is then formal identity between con-
junction and temporal adverbial (3.5.4) — as with English

since (cf.

since (conj.) he came . . . , it has since (adv.) been lost). The following
can serve as a general example illustrating the use of temporal con-
junctions with and without

er.

Vér sœkjum ﬂangat miskunn gu›s, ﬂegar er vér komum í
heim, ok ﬂangat me›an vér erum í heimi, ok ﬂangat ﬂá er
vér fƒrum ór heimi
‘We seek thither mercy of-God at-once

COMP

we come into

world, and thither while we are in world, and thither then

COMP

we go from world’

‘We seek God’s mercy there (in church) as soon as we enter
the world, and (we seek it) there while we are in the world,
and (we seek it) there when we leave the world’

Observe that the temporal contexts in which

er operates are not re-

stricted to past-time reference.

Location is another type of context in which

er is commonly to be

found, usually in combination with a locational adverbial. We find
ﬂar er ‘where’ (adverb ﬂar ‘there’), ﬂangat er (sometimes ﬂangat til
er) ‘to where’ (adverb ﬂangat ‘thither’, adverb til ‘to’ (cf. 3.7.7)), ﬂa›an
er ‘from where’ (adverb ﬂa›an ‘thence’), and the further series hvar(gi)
er ‘wherever’ (adverb hvar ‘where’), hvert(ki) er ‘to wherever’ (adverb
hvert ‘whither’), hva›an er ‘from wherever’ (adverb hva›an ‘whence’).

Conjunctions

207

Typical examples are:

Helt hann ﬂangat, er hann spur›i til ﬁorfinns
‘Proceeded he thither

COMP

he heard of ﬁorfinnr’

‘He proceeded to where he heard ﬁorfinnr was’

Gu› heyrir bœnir várar, hvar er vér bi›jum fyrir oss af ƒllu
hjarta
‘God hears prayers our where

COMP

we pray for ourselves of

all heart’
‘God hears our prayers wherever we pray from our whole heart’

Er can introduce several other types of adverbial sentence. Some of

these are easy enough to interpret since the words with which

er com-

bines are common and impart their characteristic meanings — e.g.
hversu, hvé ‘how’, hverr ‘who’, which give the conditional-concessives
hversu er, hvégi er ‘however’ (as in hversu/hvégi lengi er . . . ‘how-
ever long . . . ’),

hverr er ‘whoever’. The circumstantial at ﬂví er ‘inso-

far as’ is not immediately deducible from its component parts, but its
sense is clear and unambiguous. Circumstantial or causal

ﬂar er, on

the other hand, can only be distinguished from the formally identical
locational conjunction (see above) by the context. In, for example:

Tƒl›u ﬂeir ﬂat órá› at leggja til bardaga vi› ﬁorgeir, ﬂar er
hann haf›i li› meira
‘Said they that bad-counsel to go to battle with ﬁorgeirr, there

COMP

he had force bigger’

‘They said it was a bad idea to go to battle with ﬁorgeirr
since he had the bigger force’

there can be no question of a locational interpretation since no loca-
tions are mentioned. On the other hand, in:

Muntu ok eigi vilja vita ﬂat á ﬂik, at ﬂú liggir hér sem kƒttr í
hreysi, ﬂar er ek berjumk til frelsis hvárumtveggjum

cited as 3.6.8, sentence 13, it can be hard to determine the precise
meaning of

ﬂar er. There is the implied contrast of ﬂar with hér ‘here’,

208

Morphology and syntax

suggesting a locational interpretation, but the greater contrast seems
to be circumstantial: hiding away as opposed to participating in
desperate action. The translation offered in 3.6.8 is ‘while’; ‘given
that’ ‘seeing that’ are possible renderings too.

Another very common use of

er is to introduce relative (adjectival)

sentences. This arises because Old Norse has no relative pronoun proper
(though in Latinate style interrogative

hverr ‘who?’ is sometimes used

as a relative in the same way as

who(m), which, whose in English).

Since

er is semantically empty, it is usual for the antecedent noun

phrase modified by the relative sentence to be accompanied by the
appropriate form of the demonstrative

sá or sjá/ﬂessi (3.2.2). E.g.:

Erlendr átti ﬂá konu, er ﬁóra hét
‘Erlendr had that woman

COMP

ﬁóra was-called’

‘Erlendr was married to the woman who was called ﬁóra’

where

konu is the antecedent noun phrase, ﬂá the accompanying de-

monstrative and

er ﬁóra hét the relative sentence. Note however that

ﬂá is in the same (independent) sentence as konu and agrees with it in
case, gender and number (acc. f. sg.). It is thus of no help in indicating
the function of whatever correlates with (i.e. refers to the same entity
as)

konu in the relative sentence. Whether we take this to be er or a

relative pronoun that is absent but understood, it has subject function
(‘the woman/she was called ﬁóra’), and nominative would therefore
be the appropriate case. This is not, however, shown, the only marker,
er, being uninflected, and the student thus has to deduce the function
of the correlate from the context.

Further examples will make the problem clearer, and indicate strat-

egies for solving it. In:

Hann beiddisk ﬂess ﬂri›jungs, er átt haf›i Einarr jarl
‘He demanded that third

COMP

owned had Einarr earl’

the antecedent and its accompanying pronoun are in the genitive (gov-
erned by

beiddisk), but what of the correlate? The student may ponder

two possibilities: ‘which had owned Earl Einarr’ (‘which’ = subject)
or ‘which Earl Einarr had owned’ (‘which’ = object). The latter will
be preferred as by far the more likely statement, and any residual doubt

Conjunctions

209

can be resolved by the form

Einarr. Einarr is nom. (acc. Einar). Since

eiga ‘[to] own’ is construed with nom. subject and acc. direct object,
the subject of the relative sentence must be

Einarr, leaving the correlate

ﬂess ﬂri›jungs as the object (accusative, though unmarked as such).

The idiomatic translation is thus:

‘He demanded the third which Earl Einarr had owned’

In:

Váru ﬂeir menn ﬂá út dregnir, er gri› váru gefin

‘Were those men then out dragged [from the burning build-
ing]

COMP

truces were given’

the antecedent and its accompanying pronoun are in the nominative
(the subject of

váru . . . dregnir). The main verb of the relative sen-

tence is to be found in the pp. form

gefin, from gefa ‘[to] give’. Verbs

of giving are normally construed with nominative subject, accusative
direct object and dative indirect object in Old Norse, but in passive
constructions, which is what we have here, nominative subject (what
was given) and dative indirect object (to whom it was given) normally
suffice (see 3.6.8, sentence 24). The only noun phrase in the relative
sentence is

gri›, and this will be found to be n. pl. The auxiliary verb-

form

váru is pl. and its subject could thus be either the correlate of

ﬂeir menn or gri›; however, pp. gefin is either nom. f. sg. or nom./acc.
n. pl. (3.3.9, paradigm 7) and cannot therefore agree with a m. pl.
subject. The correlate must be indirect object (‘to whom truces were
given’), and an idiomatic rendering would be:

‘The men who were given quarter were then pulled out’

Note finally that antecedent and relative sentence are discontinuous
(i.e.

ﬂá út dregnir intervenes), a common enough phenomenon in Old

Norse. In:

Rƒgnvaldr segir, at ﬂann hlut Eyja, er ﬂeir kalla til, hef›i
hann tekit í lén af Magnúsi konungi
‘Rƒgnvaldr says that that part of-Islands

COMP

they call to,

had he taken in fief from Magnús king’

210

Morphology and syntax

the antecedent and its accompanying pronoun are in the accusative
(the object of

hef›i tekit). The verb phrase of the relative sentence

consists of verb (

kalla) + preposition (til). Since the verb is 3rd pl., its

subject cannot be the correlate of

ﬂann hlut and must therefore be

nom. pl.

ﬂeir. This means the correlate of ﬂann hlut is governed by til.

An idiomatic rendering is then:

‘Rƒgnvaldr says that he had taken in fief from King Magnús
the part of the Orkneys to which they are laying claim’

(Observe that in Old Norse constructions of this type the preposition
regularly comes at the end of the sentence; word-order equivalent to
English

to which, from whom, etc., is seldom found, and never where

the particle

er is used.)

This last example indicates that the correlate can have functions (in

addition to reference to the antecedent) other than those of subject,
direct and indirect object. The instrumental dative and the various
relationships expressed by the genitive — to mention the most common
— can also be ‘built in’ to the correlate. Consider the following two
examples:

Sá ﬂvengr, er mu›rinn Loka var saman rifa›r, heitir Vartari

‘That thong

COMP

mouth-the of-Loki was together sewn is-

called Vartari’
‘The thong with which Loki’s mouth was sewn up is called
Vartari’

(

er (or an understood correlate, cf. above) = instrumental dat. ‘with which’)

Sjá ma›r, er vér segjum nú frá jartegnum, átti marga læri-
sveina
‘This man,

COMP

we say now from miracles, had many disci-

ples’
‘This man, of whose miracles we are now telling, had many
disciples’

(

er (or understood correlate) = subjective gen. ‘whose’)

Conjunctions

211

Although pronoun + noun or noun + pronoun is the most common

antecedent of a relative sentence, a noun or pronoun may also occur
on its own. E.g.:

¯zurr átti son, er Leifr hét
‘¯zurr had a son who was called Leifr’

Svínbeygt hefi ek nú ﬂann, er ríkastr er me› Svíum

‘Made-root-like-a-pig have I now that-one [m.]

COMP

most-

powerful is among Swedes’
‘I have thoroughly humbled him who is most powerful among
the Swedes’

Occasionally — mostly in early writings — a personal or demon-

strative pronoun or possessive adjective may be included in the relative
sentence to make the function of the correlate clearer. E.g.:

Ekkja heitir sú, er búandi hennar var› sóttdau›r

‘Widow is-called that-one [f.]

COMP

husband her was dead-

from-illness’
‘She whose husband died from illness is called a widow’

Sometimes the particle

er is replaced by sem. This is particularly

common with relative, conditional-concessive (

hverr er/sem ‘whoever’

etc.) or locational ‘-ever’ sentences (

hvar er/sem ‘wherever’ etc.). E.g.:

Gengu út ﬂeir, sem gløggs‡nastir váru at sjá
‘Went out those

COMP

most-clear-sighted were to look’

‘Those who were most clear-sighted went out to look’

Hann var kenndr at illu hvar sem hann fór
‘He was known for bad where

COMP

he went’

‘He had a bad reputation wherever he went’

More problematically,

er is interchangeable with at, another ex-

tremely common Old Norse particle which participates in a wide range
of constructions (3.8.2.2).

212

Morphology and syntax

For example:

En ﬂeir allir, at ﬂau tí›indi heyr›u, lofu›u sannan gu›
‘But those all,

COMP

those tidings heard, praised true god’

‘And all who heard that news praised the true God’

English-speaking learners may be helped by the quirk that

that can

introduce both

that- (noun) and relative (adjective) sentences (cf. 3.8),

making ‘and all that heard that news . . . ’ a possible English rendering
of the above. This superficial similarity will not help in all cases where
at is substituted for er, however, nor where er is used for expected at,
so it is important to understand the sentence structure. In, for example:

ﬁegar at hausta›i, tóku at vaxa reimleikar
‘At-once

COMP

became-autumn, began to grow hauntings’

‘As soon as autumn arrived the hauntings began to increase’

ﬂegar combines with at rather than er to form a temporal subordinat-
ing conjunction. Here it is quite impossible to think of

at as the equiva-

lent of English ‘that’. For the beginner the best advice is to try sub-
stituting

er for at and vice versa when either is met in a context where

it does not make obvious sense.

3.8.2.2 The particle at

Used on its own,

at introduces noun sentences and adverbial sentences

of purpose. The former are far commoner. Typical examples of

at noun

sentences are provided by:

ﬁeir segja, at hann væri ﬂar á hƒf›anum hjá ﬂeim
‘They say that he was there on the headland with them’

En ek vil, Sveinn, at ﬂú farir í Orkneyjar
‘But I want, Sveinn, that you go to Orkneys’
‘But I want you, Sveinn, to go to the Orkneys’

Conjunctions

213

An adverbial sentence of purpose introduced by

at is contained in:

Mun ek veita ﬂér slíkt li›, sem ﬂú vill, at ﬂetta fari fram
‘Will I give you such aid as you want that this goes forward’

‘I will give you as much aid as you want so that this may be
accomplished’

Noun sentences are sometimes anticipated by a demonstrative pro-
noun standing in the associated independent sentence, e.g.:

Ræ› ek ﬂat, at vér vindim segl várt
‘Advise I that that we hoist sail our’
‘I advise that we hoist our sail’

Er sú bœn Kveldúlfs, at ﬂú takir vi› ﬁórólfi
‘Is that [f.] request of-Kveldúlfr that you take with ﬁórólfr’
‘It is Kveldúlfr’s request that you receive ﬁórólfr’

where

at vér vindim segl várt, the object of ræ›, is represented by ﬂat

in the independent sentence, and

at ﬂú takir vi› ﬁórólfi, the subject of

er, by sú (agreeing with bœn, f.).

At regularly combines with other words to form subordinating con-

junctions; these introduce various kinds of adverbial sentence. More
often than plain

at the purpose conjunction is til ﬂess at ‘in order that’

‘so that’ (

til ﬂess at can alternatively, but less commonly, have the

temporal sense ‘until’). Sentences of reason or cause may be intro-
duced by

ﬂví at, af ﬂví at, fyrir ﬂví at, me› ﬂví at ‘because’ ‘since’; of

concession by

ﬂó at or ﬂót(t) (the latter a compound of the former)

‘although’ ‘even though’; of result by

svá at ‘so that’ ‘with the result

that’; and of comparison by

svá . . . at ‘so . . . that’. Examples are:

Skulu [3.6.9.1 point (13)] vér frændr ﬂínir veita ﬂér styrk, til
ﬂess at ﬂú komir aldrigi sí›an í slíkt ƒngﬂveiti
‘Shall we kinsmen your give you support to that that you
come never subsequently into such straits’
‘We your kinsmen will give you support so that you never
again get into such straits’

214

Morphology and syntax

Hrau› hann skipin skjótt, ﬂví at ﬂar var bor›amunr mikill

‘Cleared he ships-the quickly therefore that there was differ-
ence-in-height great’
‘He cleared the ships (of men) quickly because there was a
great difference in height (between his ships and the others)’

Kallar hann ﬂat meirr verit hafa fyrir ﬂví játtat, at ﬂeir váru
ﬂá komnir í greipr Óláfi konungi
‘Calls he that more been have for that agreed that they were
then come into clutches [belonging] to-Óláfr king’
‘He says it was agreed more readily because they had then
fallen into the clutches of King Óláfr’

ﬁó at hann deyi í mƒrgum syndum, ﬂá lifir hann í trú sinni

‘Though that he dies in many sins, then lives he in faith

REFL

POSS

.’

‘Even though he may die full of sin, he lives in his faith’

Lƒg›u ﬂeir á flótta, svá at fá ein skip váru eptir me› jarls
skipi
‘Set-off they to flight, so that few only ships were behind
with earl’s ship’
‘They took to flight, so that only a few ships were left with
the earl’s ship’

Ekki eru ﬂeir enn svá nær oss, at eigi væri betr, at ek hef›a
sofit
‘Not are they yet so near us that not were better that I had
slept’
‘They are not yet so near us that it would not have been bet-
ter if I had slept’

Note that conjunctions that consist of more than one word can be dis-
continuous (

fyrir ﬂví . . . at; comparative svá . . . at is always so).

Conjunctions

215

Sometimes whole sentences may intervene between the different
elements, e.g.:

Af ﬂví eigum vér, gó›ir vinir, at leggja mikla rœkt á kirkjur
várar, at vér sœkjum ﬂangat miskunn gu›s
‘From that ought we, good friends, to place great care on
churches our that we seek thither grace of-God’
‘We ought, dear friends, to take great care of our churches
because we seek there the grace of God’

This in no way exhausts the list of subordinating conjunctions in-

corporating

at, but students will find that once the basics are under-

stood the sense of most can be deduced from the context. In addition
to result and comparison, for example,

svá at can introduce sentences

of purpose, e.g.:

Af ﬂví er oss nau›syn, gó›ir brœ›r . . . at vér hreinsim brjóst-
kirkjur várar, svá at ekki finni gu› í mysteri sínu . . . ﬂat er
hann styggvisk vi›
‘From that is to-us necessity, good brothers . . . that we cleanse
breast-churches our, so that not finds God in temple

REFL

POSS

. . . . that

COMP

he offends-

sk with’

‘Therefore it is necessary for us, dear brethren . . . to purify
the churches of our hearts, so that God does not find in his
temple . . . anything by which he is offended’

Note that

af ﬂví here is the adverbial ‘therefore’, and does not belong

with the following

at, which introduces the noun sentence subject of

er oss nau›syn (‘that we purify the churches of our hearts is to us a
necessity’). Observe also a further example of a correlate in a relative
sentence governed by a preposition:

er hann styggvisk vi› (3.8.2.1).

3.8.2.3 Interrogative pronouns and adverbs

The interrogative pronouns

hverr ‘who’ ‘which’ ‘what’, hvat ‘what’

and

hvárr ‘which of two’, and interrogative adverbs such as hvar

‘where’,

hva›an ‘whence’, hvert ‘whither’ ‘where’, hvárt ‘whether’,

216

Morphology and syntax

hvé, hversu, hvernig ‘how’, nær, hvenær ‘when’, hví ‘why’, introduce
noun sentences. Typically such sentences occur after verbs of ‘ask-
ing’ or ‘knowing’, denoting the thing asked or known, but they may
be found in many other contexts. Since these interrogatives are among
the most common words in Old Norse and their meaning is usually
clear, the dependent sentences they introduce are unlikely to cause the
learner many difficulties. It is worth noting, however, that the pro-
nouns always appear in a case, gender and number appropriate to their
function in the dependent sentence. A selection of examples follows
to illustrate the range of Old Norse ‘indirect questions’ — as depend-
ent sentences introduced by interrogatives are often called.

Hann lét frétta eptir, hverr fyrir eldinum ré›i
‘He let ask after who of fire-the had-command’
‘He had people ask who was responsible for the fire’

Hverr is the subject of the verb ré›i and thus nominative (cf. 3.1.5, sentence 1).
The noun sentence

hverr fyrir eldinum ré›i is governed by the preposition

eptir (3.7.4) in the independent sentence: if hverr fyrir eldinum ré›i were
reduced to a noun or pronoun, its case would be dative (e.g.

hann lét frétta

eptir ﬂví ‘he had people ask about that’).

Ek vil vita, hverju ﬂú vill bœta mér bró›ur minn

‘I want know with-what you will compensate to-me brother my’
‘I want to know what compensation you will give me for my
brother’s death’

Hverju is an instrumental dative denoting the means of compensation — with
or by what someone or something is compensated (cf. 3.1.5, sentence 20).
The noun sentence introduced by

hverju is the object of the verb vita in the

independent sentence: it describes what the speaker wants to know (cf. 3.1.5,
sentence 5, 3.2.6, sentence 6).

Leita›i hann ﬂá eptir, hvern styrk ﬂeir vilja veita honum
‘Sought he then after what support they will give him’
‘He then enquired what support they are willing to give him’

Styrk, with which hvern agrees, is accusative — the object of veita (what
‘they’ (may) give). As in the first example, the noun sentence is governed by
the preposition

eptir.

Conjunctions

217

ﬁat vil ek vita, hvat ﬂú vill veita oss
‘That want I know what you will give us’
‘I want to know what you are willing to give us’

Hvat, like hvern styrk in the preceding example, is the object of veita. Observe
that the noun sentence is anticipated by (and reduced to)

ﬂat in the independ-

ent sentence: ‘I want to know that — namely, what you will give us’. Such
anticipation by a demonstrative pronoun is not uncommon.

ﬁat is acc., be-

cause it and the noun sentence it stands for are the object of

vita.

Eigi ﬂykki mér skipta, í hvárum flokki ek em
‘Not seems to-me matter in which-of-the-two party I am’

‘It does not seem to me to matter in which of the two parties
I am’

Hvárum agrees with flokki, which is dat., governed by the preposition í (3.7.4).
The noun sentence introduced by

í hvárum flokki is the subject of the inde-

pendent sentence — in which of the two parties the speaker finds himself is
what does not seem to him to matter.

Veit ek eigi, hva›an ﬂjófsaugu eru komin í ættar várar
‘Know I not whence thief’s-eyes are come into families our’

‘I do not know from where thief’s eyes have come into our
kin’

Engi veit, nær sú stund kømr
‘No one knows when that time will come’

Nú vil ek vita, hvárt ﬂú vill ﬂessa fer› fara me› mér
‘Now want I know whether you will this journey go with me’

‘Now I want to know whether you will make this journey
with me’

Hva›an, nær and hvárt are interrogative adverbs and thus not inflected. The
noun sentences they introduce are the objects of

veit/vita — what the speaker

does not know, what no one knows, and what the speaker wants to know.

Engu skiptir mik, hversu ﬂú hefir vi› a›ra menn gƒrt
‘By-nothing concerns me how you have to other men done’
‘It does not concern me at all how you have treated other men’

218

Morphology and syntax

Hversu is an interrogative adverb. The noun sentence it introduces is the sub-
ject of

skiptir — what does not concern the speaker.

Hann spur›i, hví at eigi skyldi drepa flugumenn
‘He asked why that not should kill assassins’
‘He asked why assassins should not be killed’

Hví is an interrogative adverb. The noun sentence it introduces is the object of
spur›i — what is asked. Observe that not only hví but also the particle at is
used to introduce the dependent sentence. Such ‘doubling’ is not uncommon
and can also involve

er, e.g.:

En nú haf ﬂú njósn af, nær er ﬂeir koma til bœjarins
‘But now have you watch of when

COMP

they come to town-the’

‘But now keep watch and see when they come to town’

The addition of

at or er makes no difference to the meaning. It strengthens the

impression of these particles as general complementisers, and suggests that
interrogatives were sometimes felt to be unequal to the task of introducing
dependent sentences on their own.

3.8.2.4 Other adverbial sentence introducers

We have already seen that the particles

er and at can introduce adver-

bial sentences (3.8.2.1, 3.8.2.2). There are in addition several conjunc-
tions with more specific meaning that perform this task. Commonest
among these are the conditionals

ef ‘if’, nema, útan ‘unless’, the

temporals

á›r ‘before’, unz ‘until’, the temporal and circumstantial

sí›an ‘since’ ‘seeing that’ (see 3.8.2.1), and the comparatives en ‘than’,
sem ‘as’ ‘as though’. The following examples illustrate typical usage.

(a)

En ef vart ver›r vi› vára fer›, ﬂá látum vér enn hafit gæta vár

‘But if aware becomes of our movement, then let we again
sea-the guard us’
‘But if people notice our movements then we will once again
let the open sea hide us’

(a) provides a good illustration of the way in which dependent sentences are
reducible to a single word. The adverb

ﬂá ‘then’ ‘in that case’, which heads

Conjunctions

219

the independent sentence, encapsulates and repeats the adverbial sense of the
preceding conditional

en ef vart ver›r vi› vára fer›. Observe further that the

conditional sentence has no subject (cf. 3.9.3).

(b)

Nú ﬂykki mér Rƒgnvaldr eigi vel launa mér, ef ek skal nú

eigi ná bró›urarfi mínum, nema ek berjumk til
‘Now seems to-me Rƒgnvaldr not well repay me if I shall
now not get brother’s-inheritance my unless I fight-

sk for’

‘Now it seems to me Rƒgnvaldr is not repaying me well if I
am not now to get my brother’s inheritance unless I fight for it’

(c)

Nú sé ek, at ek mun deyja, útan ﬂú hjálpir mér
‘Now I see that I shall die unless you help me’

Conditional sentences introduced by

nema or útan are most often dependent

on a negative, as in (b).

(d)

ﬁeir kómu ﬂar árdegis, á›r menn váru uppsta›nir
‘They came there early-of-day before men were risen’
‘They came there early in the day before men had got up’

(e)

Ferr hann í Geirﬂjófsfjƒr› ok er ﬂar unz haustar

‘Goes he into Geirﬂjófsfjƒr›r and is there until becomes-autumn’
‘He goes to Geirﬂjófsfjƒr›r and stays there until autumn arrives’

As in (a), the dependent sentence of (e) is subjectless.

(f)

Einarr haf›i verit me› Óláfi Svía konungi sí›an Sveinn jarl

anda›isk
‘Einarr had been with Óláfr of-Swedes king since Sveinn
earl died-

sk’

‘Einarr had been with Óláfr, the Swedish king, since Earl
Sveinn died’

(g)

Villtu, at ek gæta vitans, sí›an ek geri ekki annat?

‘Want-you that I look-after beacon-the, since I do nothing
other?’
‘Do you want me to look after the beacon seeing that I am
not doing anything else?’

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Morphology and syntax

Observe that

sí›an may have circumstantial as well as temporal meaning,

testifying to the close relationship between a temporal sequence and the closed
condition or premise (

sí›an ek geri ekki annat) that ties a circumstantial sen-

tence to an independent fellow expressing the conclusion (

villtu . . . ?). (In

English

since and as function as temporal, circumstantial and also as causal

conjunctions.)

(h)

ﬁeir létu ok eigi fleiri menn sjá á skipinu en jarli hƒf›u fylgt

‘They let also not more men see on ship-the than earl had
followed’
‘Nor did they let more men be seen on the ship than had
accompanied the earl’

(i)

Hann létti eigi fyrr en hann kom á fund Magnúss konungs

‘He stopped not earlier than he came to finding of-Magnús
king’

‘He did not stop before he found King Magnús’

Just as English

than, ON en requires a comparative adjective (here fleiri) or

adverb (

fyrr) in the independent sentence. It is possible to analyse fyrr en as a

complex temporal conjunction (cf. the idiomatic English rendering ‘before’),
although, like most other compound conjunctions in Old Norse, it may be
discontinuous (i.e. the parts may be separated) as in:

eigi var› fyrr vart vi› en

ﬂeir hƒf›u tekit allar dyrr á húsunum ‘not became earlier aware of than they
had taken all doorways on buildings-the [i.e. people did not become aware of
anything before they had seized all the exits from the buildings]’.

(j)

Konungr bau› honum me› sér at vera, svá lengi sem honum

líka›i

‘King invited him with self to be as long as him pleased’
‘The king invited him to stay with him as long as he pleased’

(k)

Muntu gƒrr sekr, slíkir menn sem hér eigu eptirmæli
‘Will-you made outlawed, such men as here have prosecution’

‘You will be condemned to outlawry, seeing what kind of
men have to follow up the case’

(l)

Magnús konungr ba› hann fara sem honum líka›i
‘Magnús king bade him go as him pleased’
‘King Magnús said he could go as he pleased’

Conjunctions

221

(m)

Sveinn lét, sem hann heyr›i eigi
‘Sveinn acted as-though he heard not’
‘Sveinn pretended he did not hear’

Comparative

sem is often dependent on a preceding svá (j) or slíkr (k) — with

slíkr in the appropriate case, gender and number — though it may appear
without either (l), and commonly does when the sense is ‘as though’ (m). The
precise syntactic function of

svá and slíkr — with or without accompanying

adverb or noun phrase — can be difficult to analyse (true also of comparative
svá . . . at constructions, 3.8.2.2). In (j) and (k) above svá lengi and slíkir menn
stand outside the independent sentence but before the

sem which introduces

the dependent, comparative sentence. Since, however, similar constructions
— equally difficult to analyse — are found in English, understanding is unlikely
to prove a problem for the learner. (On the lack of an Old Norse equivalent of
‘be’ in (k)’s

muntu gƒrr sekr, see 3.9.5.2.) Note that comparative sem is

sometimes replaced by

ok. This normally only occurs where the comparative

is dependent on an antecedent meaning ‘same’ or ‘similar’. E.g.:

ﬁat segja sumir menn, at hann yr›i aldri sami ma›r ok á›r
‘That say some men that he became never same man and before’
‘Some men say that he was never the same man as (he was)
before’

3.8 Conjunctions — Exercise

1. What is the principal function of conjunctions? In what way do

they differ from most other words?

2. What is implied by the term ‘coordinating conjunction’? What are

the main coordinating conjunctions in Old Norse?

3. How can the meaning of

er be deduced?

4. Outline the main sentence types introduced by

er.

5. What types of sentence are introduced by

at on its own?

6. With what words does

at combine to form complex subordinating

conjunctions? Give the Old Norse forms and their meaning(s).

7. List the interrogative pronouns that introduce dependent sentences

in Old Norse and give their meaning(s).

8. Apart from

er and at, which simplex (single-word) conjunctions

introduce adverbial sentences in Old Norse? Give the words and
their meaning(s).

9. Find three examples of discontinuous conjunctions (either from

sentences in this section or elsewhere) and quote them.

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Morphology and syntax

10. Analyse the conjunctions (printed in bold) in the following sen-

tences. State whether they are coordinating or subordinating and,
if subordinating, the type of sentence they introduce (noun, adjec-
tival, adverbial; conditional, temporal, causal, etc.).

(a) ﬁá spur›i hann, at Haraldr var farinn yfir til Kataness

‘Then he learnt that Haraldr had gone across to Caithness’

(b) Er ﬂér eigi forvitni á, hversu mér líkar sagan?

‘Aren’t you curious to know how I like the story?’

‘Then Erlendr went east to Norway, but Anakol remained in the Ork-
neys’

(d) Íﬂrótt er ﬂat, ef ﬂú efnir

‘That is a feat if you can perform it’

(e) Hann var ﬂá barn at aldri, er hann tók ríkit

‘He was only a child when he came to the throne’

(f) ﬁó at ﬂú ver›ir rei›r, ﬂá mældu fátt

‘Though you become angry, yet say little’

(g) Konungr kalla›isk ﬂá vilja fá honum skip ok li›, svá sem hann

ﬂurfti

‘The king said he would give him ships and men then as (many as) he
needed’

(h) Tóku ﬂeir ﬂá byr›inginn ok allt ﬂat, er á var

‘They then seized the cargo-boat and everything that was on it’

(i) ﬁeir váru í Orkahaugi, me›an él dró á

‘They were in Orkahaugr, while a storm passed over’

(j) Gaf hann meir en fjór›ung biskupsdóms síns, til ﬂess at heldr

væri tveir biskupsstólar á Íslandi en einn

‘He gave more than a quarter of his bishopric so that there should be
two episcopal seats in Iceland rather than one’

(k) Sveinn skyldi fyrir sjá, hvert rá› er skyldi taka

‘Sveinn was to decide what plan should be adopted’

(l) Konungr var› svá rei›r Agli, at hann vill eigi fara at finna

hann

‘The king became so angry with Egill that he will not go to see him’

(m) Hann sendi ﬂá or› ƒ›rum hƒf›ingjum ﬂeim, er honum var li›s

at ván

‘He then sent word to the other leaders from whom he expected help’

(n) ﬁví var hann kalla›r bló›øx, at ma›rinn var ofstopama›r

‘He was called “bloodaxe” because he was an overbearing man’

Points of syntax

223

3.9 Residual points of syntax

The aim of this section is to introduce the learner to various aspects of
Old Norse syntax that may cause difficulty (some will have been briefly
alluded to in earlier parts of this

Grammar). Only the essentials are

dealt with. For more thorough accounts, see Faarlund 2004, Haugen
2001, Heusler 1932, Iversen 1973, Nygaard 1905.

3.9.1 Sentence word-order

Word-order in Old Norse is freer than in modern English. That does
not mean, however, that words may appear in any sequence. One clear
rule is that the finite verb must be the first or second element in a
sentence, in dependent sentences most often the second. Awareness of
this pattern can help to determine whether a sentence is to be analysed
as independent and beginning with an adverb or dependent and intro-
duced by a conjunction. For example:

(a)

Sí›an gekk hann til messu

and:

(b)

Sí›an hann gekk til messu . . .

are to be interpreted differently. (a) is an independent sentence in which
the adverb

sí›an ‘then’ occupies first position, the finite verb gekk

‘went’ second, and the subject

hann ‘he’ third. (b) is a dependent sen-

tence introduced by the subordinating conjunction

sí›an ‘since’, in

which the subject

hann occupies first position and the finite verb gekk

second. The full meaning of (a) is thus ‘then he went to mass’ and of
(b) ‘since he went to mass . . .’ Being dependent, (b) requires the
addition of an independent sentence to complete the utterance (cf. 3.8).

In English a finite verb in first position normally signals either a

question (

can you come?) or a command (come here!). In Old Norse

declarative sentences too may have verb-first order. Thus:

Hefir ﬂú mikit li›

224

Morphology and syntax

may either be the question ‘have you a big force?’ or the declarative
‘you have a big force’. Normally the context will make clear how such
a sentence is to be understood. Ambiguity can also be avoided by the
use of the question introducer

hvárt (in origin nom./acc. n. sg. of the

interrogative pronoun

hvárr ‘which of two’, cf. 3.2.5). Thus, while

Lifir hann enn
‘Lives he still’

may either be the question ‘is he still alive?’ or the statement ‘he is
still alive’,

Hvárt lifir hann enn?

can only be the question.

As noted in 3.1.5 and elsewhere, the unmarked order of noun phrases

in Old Norse (order not deliberately altered for emphasis) is subject
— object. Often the subject will precede the finite verb giving subject
— verb — object:

ﬁeir fundu konung
‘They met the king’

However, where some other word is in first position (a) or the verb is
first (b), the order will be verb — subject — object (cf. above):

(a)

ﬁar fundu ﬂeir konung

(b)

Fundu ﬂeir konung

The position of the direct and indirect object in relation to one an-

other is not fixed, morphological case (mostly) indicating the function
(see 3.1.5, sentences 5, 16–19). A tendency for the indirect to precede
the direct object is however noticeable.

The subject complement (3.1.5, sentence 1) also follows the subject

in unmarked word-order, and the object complement (3.3.6, sentence 7)
the object, as in:

Points of syntax

225

Var hann inn mesti hƒf›ingi
‘Was he the greatest ruler’
‘He was a very great ruler’

ﬁeir ger›u hann ﬂegar líflátinn
‘They made him at-once life-lost’
‘They killed him at once’

Many sentences will of course contain more than subject, finite verb,

object(s) and/or complement. However, the learner is unlikely to be
much confused by the order in which such additional elements appear,
even though this can vary considerably. Three features are worth noting.
First, non-finite verb-forms may follow as well as precede objects and
complements. E.g.:

Hann haf›i heit strengt
‘He had oath sworn’
‘He had sworn an oath’

Eigi var hann jafna›arma›r kalla›r
‘Not was he fair-man called’
‘He was not called a fair man’

Second, although a finite verb may immediately follow a subordinat-
ing conjunction, it is common to insert a sentence element between
them. This element may be of almost any type. E.g. (with intervening
pronoun

vér, supine byggt and adverb ﬂar in bold):

Af ﬂeira ætt er sú kynsló› komin, er vér kƒllum Ása ættir, er
byggt hafa Ásgar› ok ﬂau ríki, er ﬂar liggja til
‘From their union is that family-line come

COMP

[3.8.2.1] we

call of-Æsir kinsfolk,

COMP

inhabited have Ásgar›r and those

realms

COMP

there lie to’

‘From them has come the family line we call the Æsir kins-
folk, who have inhabited Ásgar›r and the realms which be-
long to it’

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Morphology and syntax

Third, provided the subject is the only noun phrase in the sentence, it
may be postponed to the end. E.g.:

Tók ﬂá brátt at brenna bœrinn
‘Took then soon to burn farmhouse-the’
‘Then the farmhouse soon began to burn’

Not uncommonly, an object or complement is fronted (moved into

first position), either because it is an established discourse topic or to
give it emphasis. These are cases of marked word-order (see 3.1.5,
sentence 1). A fronted object will usually be detectable from the fact
that it has a case other than the nominative and one different from that
of any other noun phrase in the sentence, but a complement will have
the same case as one of the other noun phrases (cf. above and 3.1.5,
sentence 1, 3.3.6, sentence 7), often the nominative. Thus, in:

Ásu dóttur sína gipti hann Gu›rø›i konungi
‘Ása, daughter

REFL

POSS

., married he to-Gu›rø›r king’

He gave his daughter, Ása, in marriage to King Gu›rø›r’

the accusative case of

Ásu dóttur sína should warn the student against

trying to interpret it as subject, notwithstanding it is the first noun
phrase in the sentence. The student will either know, or can ascertain
from a dictionary, that

gipta is construed with a nominative subject,

accusative direct object and dative indirect object. Since

Gu›rø›i

konungi is clearly dat., and Ásu dóttur sína clearly acc., hann must be
nom. (rather than acc., cf. 3.2.1) and is thus the only candidate for
subject. On the other hand, in:

Vitr ma›r ertu
‘Wise man are-you’
‘You are a wise man’

both

vitr ma›r and ﬂú (ertu = ert ﬂú, cf. 3.2.1) are nominative. There

is nevertheless no doubt that

ﬂú is subject and vitr ma›r subject com-

plement. In sentences of the

X is Y type X is the topic and Y the com-

ment. Thus,

you are a wise man is acceptable English since you can be

interpreted as an established discourse topic about which something

Points of syntax

227

is being said, whereas

*a wise man is you is impossible because of the

difficulty of interpreting

a wise man as topic and you as something

said about it. Not all examples are as clear-cut as this. Consider:

Dóttir Njar›ar var Freyja
‘Daughter of-Njƒr›r was Freyja’
‘Freyja was Njƒr›r’s daughter’

Here we may legitimately wonder what is subject and what subject
complement. The reason for identifying

Freyja as subject is that dóttir

Njar›ar is more likely as a description of a named individual than a
named individual is as a description of

dóttir Njar›ar (cf. English

?John’s daughter was Sally).

It is not only objects and complements that are fronted in Old Norse.

Adverbials (cf.

ﬂar fundu ﬂeir konung, eigi var hann jafna›arma›r

kalla›r above) and non-finite verbs (ﬂakka viljum vér y›r ‘we want to
thank you’) may also be topicalised or emphasised in this way.

Observe that in all these cases of fronting the finite verb remains the

second sentence element (though not necessarily the second word).
This is even the case where a dependent precedes an independent sen-
tence — the former being reducible to a single element (cf. 3.8), e.g.:

Er jarl heyr›i ﬂetta, var› hann rei›r mjƒk
‘

COMP

earl heard this, became he angry much’

‘When the earl heard this, he became very angry’

Dependent

er jarl heyr›i ﬂetta can be reduced to ﬂá ‘then’, and where

ﬂá heads an independent sentence the finite verb, here var›, must be
the next element.

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Morphology and syntax

3.9.1 Sentence word-order — Exercise

1. What sentence positions may the finite verb occupy in Old Norse?

Give three examples.

2. In what order do the different noun phrases appear in an unmarked

Old Norse sentence? Give three examples.

3. What is meant by fronting? Give three examples.
4. Analyse the word-order of the following sentences:

(a) Fé ﬂat allt gaf hann li›smƒnnum sínum

‘He gave all that wealth to his followers’

(b) Fornjótr hefir konungr heitit

‘There was a king called Fornjótr’

‘Those who were present thought that Earl Rƒgnvaldr would be on
the move there’

3.9.2 Word-order in noun phrases

Noun phrase word-order, like word-order in general, is freer in Old
Norse than English. Words modifying a noun may, with certain restric-
tions, appear either before or after it. Thus we find both

gamall ma›r

(adj. + noun) and

ma›r gamall (noun + adj.) ‘old man’, ﬂann gu›

(pron. + noun) and

gu› ﬂann (noun + pronoun) ‘that god’. Phrases

containing a pronoun, definite article and adjective may have three
different orders (cf. 3.3.5):

sá (h)inn blindi ma›r (pron. + def. art. +

adj. + noun),

ma›r sá (h)inn blindi (noun + pron. + def. art. + adj.),

and

sá ma›r (h)inn blindi (pron. + noun + def. art. + adj.) ‘the blind

man’.

Possessive adjectives tend to come after the noun they modify un-

less they are stressed:

li› várt ‘our army’, mó›ir mín ‘my mother’,

tungu hennar ‘her language’, but ﬂat er ekki mitt skap ‘that is not my
inclination’ — with stress on ‘my’. This applies also to genitive modi-
fiers:

ﬂræll konungs ‘the king’s slave’, haugr Hálfdanar ‘Hálfdan’s

mound’, but

margra manna vitor› ‘many men’s knowledge [i.e. known

to many men]’ with stress on ‘many’. Regularly placed after the noun
are epithets and appositional modifiers:

Eiríkr rau›i ‘Eiríkr the red’,

ﬁorfinnr jarl ‘Earl ﬁorfinnr’.

Points of syntax

229

Comparative and superlative adjectives normally precede the nouns

they modify: (

h)in stœrri skipin ‘the larger ships’, (h)inir spƒkustu

menn ‘the wisest men’. This is also true of adverbs modifying adjec-
tives, though a few, such as the common

mjƒk, vel, betr, bezt, tend to

follow their head word:

ákafliga rei›r ‘furiously angry’, but gott mjƒk

‘very good’,

hær›r vel ‘well haired [i.e. with fine hair]’.

A further feature of noun phrases in Old Norse of which students

should be aware is their proneness to discontinuity. Elements which
belong together may be found at some distance from each other, sepa-
rated by other elements. Consider the following examples (with the
separated elements in bold):

Er menn váru út dregnir flestir, gekk ma›r út í dyrrnar

‘

COMP

men were out dragged most, went man out into door-

way’
‘When most men had been dragged out, a man went out into
the doorway’

Ma›r gekk í lyptingina í rau›um kyrtli mikill ok vaskligr
‘Man went onto poop-deck-the in red tunic large and manly’

‘A large and valiant-looking man in a red tunic came up onto
the poop-deck’

ﬁorfinnr haf›i mikit skip ok vel búit
‘ﬁorfinnr had a large and well-equipped ship’

ﬁórr fór fram á lei› ok ﬂeir félagar
‘ﬁórr went forward on way and those companions’
‘ﬁórr and his companions went on their way’

Such discontinuity should not on the whole cause students too much
difficulty provided they pay proper attention to case, gender and
number. The inflexions of nouns, pronouns and adjectives will nor-
mally suffice to make clear what belongs with what.

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Morphology and syntax

3.9.2 Word-order in noun phrases — Exercise

1. Where is the place of the adjective (including the possessive) in

relation to the noun in Old Norse noun phrases? Give four exam-
ples, two indefinite, two definite, of Old Norse noun phrases con-
taining adjectives.

2. Where is the place of genitive modifiers in relation to the noun in

Old Norse?

3. Where is the place of adverbs in Old Norse in relation to the adjec-

tives they modify?

4. What is meant by discontinuity? Give two examples of its occur-

rence in Old Norse noun phrases.

3.9.3 Impersonal constructions

Certain verbs in Old Norse are construed without a subject. Many of
these have to do with the weather, with the coming of the seasons or of
parts of the day or night. Common to all of them is that they denote an
event which has no obvious instigator; it is the event itself that the
sentence ‘is about’ (cf. 3.1.5, sentence 1). Examples are (with the
subjectless verb in bold):

Frost var ve›rs, en á›r haf›i snjófat nƒkkut
‘Frost was of-weather, but earlier had snowed somewhat’
‘The weather was frosty, but earlier it had snowed a bit’

ﬁegar at hausta›i, tóku at vaxa reimleikar
‘At-once

COMP

became-autumn, began to grow hauntings’

‘As soon as autumn arrived the hauntings began to increase’

En at morni ﬂegar daga›i, stendr ﬁórr upp ok ﬂeir félagar

‘But in morning as-soon-as dawned gets ﬁórr up and those
companions’
‘But in the morning as soon as dawn broke ﬁórr and his com-
panions get up’

Points of syntax

231

Because of their lack of a subject, constructions such as these are

often known as ‘impersonal’ — a reference to the absence both of an
instigator and of person agreement in the verb (cf 3.3.1, 3.6.1), 3rd
person sg. being used as the default form. ‘Impersonal’ is not only
applied to cases where the verb cannot have a subject, however, but
also to those where a potential subject is left unexpressed. This often
happens in Old Norse when the focus is on the object and the subject
is of no interest in the context, e.g. (once again with the relevant verb(s)
in bold):

(a)

Hér hefr kristni sƒgu
‘Here begins of-Christianity saga’
‘Here begins the history of the Church (in Iceland)’

(b)

Standi menn upp ok taki hann, ok skal hann drepa
‘Stand men up and seize him, and shall him kill’
‘Let men stand up and seize him; he is to be killed’

(c)

Sjá má nú, at ekki n‡tir ﬂú hér af
‘See can now that nothing benefit you here from’
‘One can see now that you get no benefit at all from this’

It is not uncommon for learners to take

sƒgu in (a) or the second

hann in (b) as the subject. However, the form sƒgu, which differs from
nom.

saga, and the meaning of hann, which can hardly be agent, warn

against such hasty conclusions.

Sƒgu is acc., the object of hefr, and the

sense is something like ‘here one begins the history of the Church’.
The Old Norse sentence has no word corresponding to ‘one’, however,
and given that the subject and agent — the person or thing beginning
the history — is unspecified, there are several ways of rendering the
sense into English, e.g. ‘here we begin . . . ’, rather than ‘here one
begins’ or the passive ‘here is begun’ (cf. 3.6.4 and further below).
Similarly in (b) both occurrences of

hann are acc., the objects of taki

and

drepa, but whereas taki (3rd pl. pres. subj.) has menn as its subject

(understood because coreferential with the expressed subject of

standi),

drepa is subjectless; menn cannot be subject here since the finite verb,
the auxiliary

skal, is sg. In English we must once again introduce an

unspecified ‘one’, ‘we’, ‘you’, etc. as subject and agent — the person

232

Morphology and syntax

or persons who are to do the killing — or we can make the rendering
passive, whereby the Old Norse object

hann will correspond to the

English subject and the agent can be omitted: ‘he shall be killed’, ‘he
is to be killed’ — by whom in particular is neither here nor there in the
context. In (c) the impersonal construction is slightly easier to spot
because there is no noun phrase at all in the independent sentence

sjá

má nú, the object of sjá being the dependent at ekki n‡tir ﬂú hér af.
Otherwise (c) is not different in type from (a) or (b): the focus is on
the object of

sjá — the thing seen — not the subject — the person or

persons who see. The seer or seers are unspecified and can thus be
rendered ‘one’, ‘people’, etc. in English, or omitted altogether by
substituting a passive for the Old Norse active phrase: ‘that you get no
benefit at all from this can now be seen’.

Insofar as the direct object in active verb phrases becomes the sub-

ject when the verb is made passive, active phrases lacking a direct
object will, if turned directly into passives (i.e. without further change),
tend to be without a subject. In English such passivisation does not
occur: we may say

the bed was slept in, but not *was slept in the bed.

In Old Norse, on the other hand, subjectless passives are a regular
feature. Thus, active:

ﬁá lƒg›u ﬂeir at jarlsskipinu
‘Then laid they at earl’s-ship-the’
‘Then they attacked the earl’s ship’

Gekk hann inn nƒkkut fyrir l‡sing
‘Went he in somewhat before dawn’
‘He went in shortly before dawn’

correspond to passive:

ﬁá var lagt at jarlsskipinu
‘Then was laid at earl’s-ship-the’
‘Then the earl’s ship was attacked’

Var gengit inn nƒkkut fyrir l‡sing
‘Was gone in somewhat before dawn’
‘Someone went in shortly before dawn’

Points of syntax

233

Students should take careful note of these and the other types of

‘impersonal’ construction mentioned above. By one means or another
they will have to supply a subject when translating them into English.

The designation ‘impersonal’ has further been applied to Old Norse

verbs construed without a nominative, or where the nominative noun
phrase is not the first in unmarked word-order (see 3.9.1, 3.1.5,
sentence 1). This is a moot point. Where there is no nominative, there
is no person agreement in the verb — the default 3rd sg. being used
(see above); to that extent ‘impersonal’ might be deemed an appropri-
ate term. On the other hand, it has been shown that oblique (non-
nominative) noun phrases that appear first in unmarked word-order
behave like subjects in virtually every respect except the triggering of
person agreement. And such phrases may certainly denote ‘persons’.
While the question how constructions of this type are best described
is not of primary concern to the learner, it is important for him/her to
realise that where a noun phrase in a case other than the nominative is
the first in a sentence, it is not automatically to be taken as a fronted
object (see 3.9.1). Thus, in:

ﬁá skal hana engan hlut skorta
‘Then shall her no thing lack’
‘Then she shall lack nothing’

Ávalt er ek sé fagrar konur, ﬂá minnir mik ﬂessarrar konu

‘Always

COMP

I see beautiful women, then reminds me of-

this woman’
‘Whenever I see beautiful women, then I remember this
woman’

Tók konungi at orna undir feldinum
‘Began to-king to warm undir cloak-the’
‘The king began to get warm under the cloak’

Líka›i y›r vel Finnskattrinn, er ﬁórólfr sendi y›r?

‘Liked to-you well Lapp-tribute-the

COMP

ﬁórólfr sent

to-you?’
‘Were you pleased with the Lapp-tribute that ﬁórólfr sent
you?’

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Morphology and syntax

the accusatives

hana and mik and the datives konungi and y›r are the

first noun phrases in sentences whose word-order is not obviously
marked. Even in

líka›i y›r vel Finnskattrinn, where the second noun

phrase is nominative, the difficulty of showing that dat.

y›r has been

fronted makes it hard to cast it in the role of object, and that in turn
raises doubts about whether

Finnskattrinn can be subject. In semantic

terms,

hana, mik, konungi and y›r represent ‘experiencers’ (the peo-

ple experiencing the events denoted by the verbs), a sense regularly
conveyed by the nominative in modern English and certain other
European languages (cf.

I lack, I remember, I get warm, I am pleased)

— seemingly reflecting a common tendency to make the experiencer
subject rather than the thing experienced. Certainly, natural English
translations of Old Norse sentences like the above will tend to bring
out the subjecthood of the first noun phrase.

Also regularly construed without nominatives are the passives of

verbs whose direct object is in the genitive or dative, e.g.:

ﬁess var leitat vi› jarl
‘Of-that was sought of earl’
‘That was asked of the earl’

Mƒnnum var borgit flestum
‘To-men was saved most’
‘Most people were saved’

In the active,

leita ‘seek’ ‘ask’ has a nominative subject and genitive

object,

bjarga ‘save’ a nominative subject and dative object. When

passivised such verbs lose their nominative subject in the normal way
(3.6.4), but the object does not become the new nominative subject. It
remains in its original case. However, since in unmarked word-order
(cf. 3.1.5, sentence 1) it precedes the verb phrase in the passive sentence,
there is some justification for treating it as subject. It certainly becomes
the theme of the sentence — ‘what it is about’ (cf. 3.1.5, sentence 1).

Only partially analogous are passives of verbs construed in the active

with a nominative subject, a dative indirect object and a further argu-
ment in the genitive or dative. To active:

Points of syntax

235

ﬁeir ljá jarli lífs
‘They grant [to-]earl [of-]life’
‘They spare the earl’s life’

ﬁeir hétu honum bana
‘They promised [to-]him [with-]death’
‘They threatened him with death’

correspond passive:

Engum er alls lét
‘To-none is [of-]all granted’
‘No one is granted everything’

Honum var heitit bana
‘To-him was promised [with-]death’
‘He was threatened with death’

In the passive versions the nominative subject is lost as before, but it
is the indirect object (

engum, honum) which moves into subject posi-

tion rather than gen.

alls or dat. bana. Although genitive and dative

arguments of this type have been termed ‘direct objects’ (e.g. 3.1.5,
sentences 11, 12, 16, 18, 19 and above in this section), their failure
here to move into subject position suggests they retain something of
the original syntactic and semantic role that caused them to be ex-
pressed by the genitive or dative in the first place. Just as, for example,
the dative with which

kasta is construed can be viewed either as direct

object or instrumental phrase — ‘[to] throw something’ or ‘[to] throw
with something’ (cf. 3.1.5, sentence 20) — so

ljá + dat. + gen. may be

taken as ‘[to] grant someone something’ or ‘[to] give to someone
possession of something’, and

heita + dat. + dat. as ‘[to] promise some-

one something’ or ‘[to] threaten someone with something’.

Nominativeless passive constructions are relatively easy to spot, and

— where relevant — the student will normally be able to render the,
or the first, genitive or dative noun phrase as the subject when trans-
lating, as above. More difficult is to recognise the accusative, genitive
or dative that precedes other noun phrases in an active sentence not
because it is fronted, but because the verb is thus construed. The student

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Morphology and syntax

should try to be alert to verbs that do not have a nominative subject
(relatively few) and make an effort to learn them as a special category.
It is important this be done. Subject and object can otherwise easily be
confused. (See further the ‘postscript’ pp. 262–3.)

3.9.3 Impersonal constructions — Exercise

1. What do you understand by the term ‘impersonal’?
2. Give Old Norse examples (a) of a verb always construed without a

subject, and (b) of a construction in which a potential subject is
left unexpressed.

3. How would you translate examples (a) and (b) in your answers to

the previous question into English?

4. In what circumstances do Old Norse passive constructions lack a

subject?

5. The first noun phrase in an Old Norse sentence is often in the

accusative, genitive or dative case. What are the different possi-
bilities of interpretation in such examples?

6. How are the main verbs in the following sentences construed?

(a) Lí›r fram haustinu ok tekr at vetra

‘The autumn passes and winter comes on’

(b) ﬁess er enn ekki hefnt

‘That is not yet avenged’

‘The ship could not be seen for the foliage’

(d) Draum dreym›i mik í fyrri nátt

‘I dreamt a dream the night before last’

(e) Engum mun bóta synjat

‘No one will be refused compensation’

3.9.4 Accusative and infinitive

In English we may say:

I saw her open it, he asked the boys to sing.

What follows

saw and asked is sometimes described as a non-finite

clause object: we have a clause or sentence which is the equivalent of
an object (cf.

I saw the letter, he asked a favour), and it contains an

Points of syntax

237

infinitive (

open, sing) but no finite verb. This analysis, however, leaves

out of account the fact that in a sense

her is both the object of saw and

the subject of

open, and the boys both the object of asked and subject

sing (cf. (I saw that) she opened it, (he asked the boys that) they

should sing). The term mostly used to describe the Old Norse counter-
parts of such English constructions is ‘accusative and infinitive’. While
hardly achieving descriptive adequacy, this designation has the merit
of emphasising accusative case, which marks direct object status, and
suggesting a connection between the accusative and the following in-
finitive. Above all, it is a more precise term than non-finite clause
object, which can cover a variety of constructions.

Old Norse accusatives and infinitives occur regularly after verbs of

saying, thinking, and experiencing. E.g.:

Magnús ba› hann fara sem honum líka›i
‘Magnus bade him go as to-him pleased’
‘Magnús said he could go as he pleased’

Vér ætlum hana litla hrí› svá hafa verit kalla›a
‘We think her little while thus have been called’
‘We think she has been called that only a short while’

Opt hefi ek heyrt y›r ﬂat mæla
‘Often have I heard you that say’
‘I have often heard you say that’

In cases where the accusative object/subject of the infinitive is iden-

tical with the subject of the finite verb, the former is not expressed as
a separate word; instead it is denoted by the -

sk suffix (3.6.5.3), which

can be considered to have reflexive function. Thus in:

Hon sag›isk vera dóttir ﬁorkels
‘She said-

sk be daughter of-ﬁorkell’

‘She said she was ﬁorkell’s daughter’

the -

sk can be interpreted literally as ‘herself’. Observe that the sub-

ject complement

dóttir is nominative. This is the rule where the accu-

sative of an acc. + inf. construction is to be found in the -

sk suffix.

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Morphology and syntax

Where the accusative appears as a separate word denoting an entity
different from the subject of the finite verb, a subject complement will
agree with it by also appearing in the accusative — cf. acc. f. sg.

kalla›a

in the second example above agreeing with

hana, and:

Hann sag›i Sigmund vera óbœttan
‘He said Sigmundr be unatoned’

‘He said Sigmundr was unatoned [i.e. his death was uncom-
pensated]’

where acc. m. sg.

óbœttan agrees with Sigmund.

In the case of the verb

ﬂyk(k)ja ‘seem’ ‘think’ we normally find a

‘nominative and infinitive’ construction. There are two variants of
this. Occasionally the subject of the infinitive is ‘raised’ (i.e. moved
into the higher sentence) and becomes the subject of

ﬂyk(k)ja (a), but

more commonly

ﬂyk(k)ja appears in the default 3rd sg. form, with

dative experiencer — denoting the person to whom the matter of the
infinitive sentence ‘seems’ — as its most likely subject (see 3.9.3)
and a nominative as the subject of the infinitive (b).

(a)

Eiríki konungi . . . ﬂóttu ﬂeir mjƒk hafa spottat sik
‘To-Eiríkr king seemed they much have mocked self’
‘King Eiríkr thought they had mocked him greatly’

(b)

ﬁá ﬂótti mér ﬂeir sœkja at ƒllum megin
‘Then seemed to-me they come against on-all sides’
‘Then it seemed to me they attacked on all sides’

In (a) nom.

ﬂeir is the subject of ﬂóttu as can be seen from the 3rd pl.

verb-form. In (b), on the other hand, where

ﬂótti is 3rd sg., ﬂeir can

only be the subject of inf.

sœkja. When the subject of the infinitive is

3rd sg., as it often is, the two constructions are difficult to distinguish. In:

ﬁótti honum hon vel hafa gert
‘Seemed to-him she well have done’
‘He thought she had acted well’

hon can according to traditional analysis be the overt subject either

Points of syntax

239

ﬂótti or of gert. In some modern approaches dat. honum, the first

noun phrase, would be deemed the subject of

ﬂótti, as also mér in (b)

above.

Subject raising is the norm with

ﬂyk(k)ja where the subject of the

following infinitive denotes the same person as the experiencer (the
person to whom the matter of the infinitive sentence ‘seems’). In, for
example:

ﬁú ﬂykkisk of fá drepit hafa mína hir›menn óbœtta
‘You seem-

sk too few killed have my retainers unatoned’

‘You think you have killed too few of my retainers without
paying compensation’

a putative

*ﬂykkir ﬂér ﬂú of fá drepit hafa . . . is restructured in such a

way that

ﬂú, the subject of drepit, becomes the subject of the finite

sentence and the dative experiencer is converted into an -

sk suffix.

This is not unlike what happens with the

hon sag›isk vera . . . type of

construction above, though there there is no subject raising and the -

suffix takes the place of an accusative rather than a dative. If we render
-

sk in the above example as ‘to yourself’, and translate fairly literally

‘you seem to yourself to have killed too few . . . ’ we get something of
the flavour of the original.

Concerning

ﬂyk(k)ja, it should finally be noted that the 3rd singular

present indicative is often

ﬂyk(k)i rather than ﬂyk(k)ir (see 3.6.9.1

point (15)).

Sometimes in accusative and infinitive constructions a past infini-

tive is encountered (see 3.6.6). In prose this is only likely to involve
the forms

mundu, skyldu, vildu, and occurs chiefly when the finite

verb is past tense. E.g.:

Hann lézk heldr mundu at sinni gefa upp ríkit
‘He said-

sk rather would for time give up earldom-the’

‘He said he would rather give up the earldom for the time
being’

ﬁór›r kva› beggja ﬂeira rá› ﬂetta vera skyldu
‘ﬁór›r said of-both their decision this be should’
‘ﬁór›r said this should be their joint decision’

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Morphology and syntax

It is difficult to get the literal sense of

mundu and skyldu across since

English ‘would’ and ‘should’ are finite forms. Semi-literal renderings
may be helpful here, using the infinitive marker

to to direct attention

to the past infinitive.

‘He said himself rather to would give up the earldom . . . ’

‘ﬁór›r said this their joint decision to should be’

3.9.4 Accusative and infinitive — Exercise

1. Why are Old Norse accusative and infinitive constructions so

called?

2. What happens to the accusative in an accusative and infinitive con-

struction when it denotes the same entity as the subject of the finite
verb?

3. Describe the different kinds of nominative and infinitive construc-

tion in which the verb

ﬂyk(k)ja is found.

4. In what type of construction do past infinitives occur in Old Norse?

3.9.5 Omissions

Certain elements are regularly omitted from Old Norse sentences. Some
can be readily understood from the context and will cause the learner
no difficulty. A subject that is already established, for example, is usu-
ally omitted in Old Norse just as in English. Thus, in:

Karl hljóp á annat skip ok ba› ﬂá taka til ára
‘Karl jumped onto another ship and bade them take to oars’
‘Karl jumped onto another ship and told them to start rowing’

the subject of

ba› is not expressed — any more than in the English

renderings — because it refers to the same person as the subject of the
previous sentence,

Karl.

Points of syntax

241

3.9.5.1 Objects

Slightly more problematic for the learner, because characteristic of
Old Norse but not of English, is the omission of the object where
already established. E.g.:

(a)

Njáll tók fésjó›inn ok seldi Gunnari
‘Njáll took money-bag-the and gave to-Gunnarr’
‘Njáll took the bag of money and gave it to Gunnarr’

(b)

Konungr greip til sver›s ok brá
‘King grasped at sword and drew’
‘The king grabbed hold of the sword and drew it’

Here ‘it’, referring in (a) to the bag of money, in (b) to the sword, is
lacking in Old Norse. This is because there is identity of reference
with a preceding noun,

fésjó›inn in (a), sver›s in (b). Observe that

object omission is not dependent on case equivalence. In (a) the missing
noun phrase would have had accusative case, just as

fésjó›inn, but in

(b) it would have been dative, while

sver›s, the noun establishing the

reference in (b), is genitive, governed by the preposition

til (3.7.2).

Indirect objects, too, may be omitted, as in:

Konungr lét skíra Hákon ok kenna rétta trú
‘King let baptise Hákon and teach true faith’
‘The king had Hákon baptised and taught the true faith’

Note that the idiomatic English rendering obscures the omission; in-
sertion of ‘him’ between ‘taught’ and ‘the’ would give a different sense
— that it was the king himself who taught Hákon the true faith.

3.9.5.2 vera

The verb

vera is often omitted, especially the infinitive (a) in connec-

tion with auxiliary verbs and (b) in accusative and infinitive construc-
tions. The student should pay particular attention to this phenomenon
since it can often cause misunderstanding.

242

Morphology and syntax

Consider the following examples:

ﬁú munt ﬂá ekki hér vel kominn
‘You will then not here well come’
‘You will not then be welcome here’

ﬁat mæltu sumir, at leitat skyldi um sættir
‘That said some, that sought should about settlement’
‘Some said that an attempt should be made to reach a settlement’

ﬁorfinnr kva› ﬂat ósannligt, at . . .
‘ﬁorfinnr said that unjust that . . .’
‘ﬁorfinnr said it was unjust that . . .’

Tƒl›u sumir várkunn, at hann vildi eigi mi›la ríkit
‘Said some cause that he wanted not divide earldom-the’

‘Some said there was understandable cause for his unwilling-
ness to divide the earldom’

In the first example the copula (

vera, the verb ‘be’) is the missing link

needed to connect subject

ﬂú and the subject complement vel kominn

(cf.

ﬂú ert vel kominn ‘you are welcome’). In the second vera is required

to complete the passive construction

leitat skyldi vera ‘should be

sought’. The third and fourth examples illustrate accusative and infinitive
constructions from which the infinitive is omitted. In the third the
copula is what is wanted to connect

ﬂat and its complement ósannligt

(cf.

ﬂat er ósannligt — subject + copula + subject complement), so the

construction is to be understood as

ﬁorfinnr kva› ﬂat ósannligt vera,

at . . . The fourth example too requires vera to be understood since
várkunn can only be the object of tƒl›u in an accusative and infinitive
construction (i.e.

tƒl›u sumir várkunn vera at . . . is perfectly accept-

able, but

*tƒl›u sumir várkunn without the ellipsis of vera is not).

Because all four contexts so clearly demand

vera, it is readily under-

stood or supplied by the reader familiar with Old Norse. The beginner
will have to proceed more slowly and analytically: faced by a sentence
that seems to lack an infinitive, and in doubt about the meaning, s/he
should always try supplying

vera. In most cases this will provide the

solution.

Points of syntax

243

Finite forms of

vera are also sometimes omitted. As with the above,

the prerequisite seems to be that the verb should be recoverable from
the context. Consider:

Fimm menn hƒf›u bana af li›i Helga, en sárir allir a›rir

‘Five men had death from force of-Helgi, but wounded all others’
‘Five of Helgi’s men were killed, and all the others were
wounded’

The finite verb of the first sentence is

hƒf›u, but that will not fit the

context of the second. What we have in

sárir allir a›rir is a fronted

subject complement (

sárir) followed by the subject (allir a›rir), and

the copula is needed to connect them. The second sentence is thus to
be understood:

en sárir váru allir a›rir.

3.9.5.3 Verbs of motion

The infinitives of verbs of motion are often omitted when modified by
an adverb or preposition phrase indicating destination. E.g.:

Sámr sag›isk vilja heim aptr
‘Sámr said-

sk want home again’

‘Sámr said he wanted to go back home’

Ætla›i hann yfir á Nes
‘Intended he over to Nes’
‘He intended to go across to Caithness’

Because of the clear directional sense indicated by adverb or preposition
phrase, such constructions are unlikely to cause the learner great problems.

3.9.5 Omissions — Exercise

1. In what circumstances may the object be omitted in Old Norse?

Give examples.

2. In what kinds of construction is

vera commonly omitted? Give

examples.

3. What is understood in the sentence:

nú b‡sk hann út til Íslands

‘now he gets ready to go to Iceland’?

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Morphology and syntax

3.9.6 Points of nominal syntax

Important aspects of nominal syntax not dealt with elsewhere are (1)
certain idiomatic uses of personal pronouns and possessive adjectives;
(2) what are often loosely termed ‘the genitive and dative of respect’.

3.9.6.1 Idiomatic uses of personal pronouns and possessive adjectives

Sometimes in Old Norse personal names are accompanied apposition-
ally by a 3rd person pronoun of the same gender and number. Instead
of

ﬂar sitr Selsbani ‘there sits Selsbani’, we find ﬂar sitr hann Selsbani

‘there sits he [i.e. that fellow] Selsbani’, instead of

hann var fa›ir

Eiríks hins sigrsæla ok Óláfs ‘he was the father of Eiríkr the victori-
ous and Óláfr’,

hann var fa›ir ﬂeira Eiríks hins sigrsæla ok Óláfs ‘he

was the father of-them [i.e. of the pair] Eiríkr the victorious and Óláfr’.
More commonly a 3rd plural or 1st or 2nd dual or plural pronoun is
found together with a single name. E.g.:

Báru ﬂeir Rƒgnvaldr eld at bœnum
‘Carried they Rƒgnvaldr fire to house-the’
‘Rƒgnvaldr and the others set fire to the house’

Vit Arnvi›r munum fara
‘We-two Arnvi›r will go’
‘Arnvi›r and I will go’

Here, as will be seen from the idiomatic translations, the pronouns are
only partly in apposition to the personal names since they also contain
a reference to one or more other people known from the context. The
dual pronouns denote one additional person, the 1st and 2nd plural more
than one. Thus

vér Arnvi›r would mean ‘Arnvi›r and we (others)’, ﬂit

Arnvi›r ‘Arnvi›r and you [sg.]’, ﬂér Arnvi›r ‘Arnvi›r and you (others)’.
Since there is no dual 3rd person pronoun,

ﬂeir Rƒgnvaldr can mean

‘Rƒgnvaldr and he’ as well as ‘Rƒgnvaldr and the others’, depending
on the context. Where men and women or a man and a woman are
involved, the 3rd person neuter plural is used (cf. 3.2.1):

ﬁau dróttning tala jafnan
‘They queen talk constantly’
‘The queen and he talk constantly’

Points of syntax

245

From the context of this particular example we know that only the
queen and a single male are involved; in another context

ﬂau dróttning

could mean ‘the queen and the others (including at least one male)’.

This usage is not confined to personal pronouns, but can also be

found with possessive adjectives. E.g.:

Hverja ætlan hefir ﬂú á um deilu ykkra Óláfs digra?
‘What view have you on about quarrel your-two Óláfr’s stout?’
‘What is your view of Óláfr the stout’s and your quarrel?’

Here the dual 2nd person possessive

ykkra carries the same ‘inclu-

sive’ sense as the personal pronouns in the previous examples. There
is however a significant syntactic difference between

ykkra Óláfs digra

and, say,

vit Arnvi›r. The pronoun vit stands in the same case as Arnvi›r

(nom.), whereas

ykkra takes its case (and gender and number) from

deilu (acc. f. sg.) while Óláfs digra is in the genitive. The difference is
occasioned by the fact that

vit and Arnvi›r form a joint subject, a pair-

ing of two noun phrases, whereas

ykkra and Óláfs, though both modify

deilu, represent different word classes: adjective and noun. The pos-
sessive signals its modifier role by case, gender and number agree-
ment, but the noun cannot — instead it goes into the genitive (the
‘possessive’ case, see 3.1.5, sentence 13). The close relationship be-
tween possessive adjectives and genitives is shown by the 3rd person
pronouns (non-reflexive), whose genitive forms,

hans, hennar, ﬂess,

ﬂeira, double up as possessives (3.3.8.5 point (6)).

It should be observed that the juxtaposition of possessive adjectives

and genitive noun phrases is also common in more unambiguous cases
of apposition. E.g.:

Er ﬂat vili várr búandanna
‘Is that will our of-farmers-the’
‘That is the will of us farmers’

Two further points of nominal syntax involving possessives and pro-

nouns require discussion.

In partitive constructions (3.2.6, sentence 20, 3.4.2, sentence 9) where

a pronoun is the head word denoting the part, and the modifier denot-
ing the whole would be expected to be a personal pronoun, the latter is
usually replaced by the corresponding possessive adjective, which
agrees in case, gender and number with the head word. E.g.:

246

Morphology and syntax

Skal hverr y›varr fara í fri›i fyrir mér
‘Shall each your go in peace before me’
‘Each of you shall go in peace as far as I am concerned’

ﬁá skal sá okkarr kjósa bœn af ƒ›rum, er sannara hefir

‘Then shall that-one our-two choose favour of other

COMP

truer has’
‘Then the one of us (two) who is right shall choose a favour
of the other’

Instead of nom. m. sg.

hverr ‘each’ + gen. y›var ‘of you’ and nom. m.

sg.

sá ‘that one’ + gen. okkar ‘of us two’, we find nom. m. sg. hverr

y›varr ‘each your’ and nom. m. sg. sá okkarr ‘that one our-two’.
Students should take careful note of this construction since experience
has shown it can cause much confusion.

Contemptuous reference is a further case in which a possessive adjec-

tive is used where on the basis of English one might expect a personal
pronoun. This can occur in both direct and indirect speech. Thus we
find not only

fóli ﬂinn ‘fool your [i.e. you fool!]’, but also:

Hann ba› ﬂegja bikkjuna hans
‘He bade be-silent bitch-the his’
‘He told the dog to shut up’

where ‘the dog’ is used insultingly of a man.

3.9.6.2 The genitive and dative of respect

The genitive and dative can be used in Old Norse to specify the appli-
cability of the verb phrase. The basic sense of such constructions is
‘with respect to’ ‘in respect of’ ‘as regards’, but idiomatic English
will usually require a different translation. E.g. (with the genitive or
dative phrases in bold):

ﬁegi ﬂú ﬂeira or›a
‘Be-silent you of-those words’
‘Keep quiet with those words’

Points of syntax

247

Vesall ertu ﬂinnar skjaldborgar
‘Wretched are-you of-your shield-fortification’
‘You and your wretched wall of shields!’

Er Haraldr konungr var› ﬂessa tí›inda víss, ﬂá dró hann her
saman
‘When Haraldr king became of-these tidings aware, then drew
he army together’
‘When King Haraldr got news of these events, he gathered
together an army’

¯ll váru bƒrn Svíakonungs vel viti borin
‘All were children of-Swedes-king well with-wit endowed’
‘All the children of the Swedish king were endowed with a
good understanding’

Var› ﬂeim mart talat
‘Became to-them much talked’
‘There was much talk between them’

Vín er honum bæ›i drykkr ok matr
‘Wine is to him both drink and food’

Dative phrases of respect often have the force of possessives. This
applies notably where they complement preposition phrases denoting
body parts. E.g. (with dative and preposition phrase in bold):

Skar›i fell fyrir fœtr ﬁorkeli
‘Skar›i fell before feet to-ﬁorkell’
‘Skar›i fell in front of ﬁorkell’s feet’

Loki greip upp mikla stƒng ok rekr á kroppinn erninum

‘Loki grasped up big pole and drives onto body-the to-eagle-the’
‘Loki seized a big pole and drove it against the eagle’s body’

ﬁá laust hann sver›it ór hƒndum honum
‘Then struck he sword-the out-of hands to-him’
‘Then he struck the sword out of his hands’

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Morphology and syntax

3.9.6 Points of nominal syntax — Exercise

Analyse the phrases printed in bold in the following sentences:

(a) ﬁeir ﬁorfinnr dvƒl›usk í eyjunni um nóttina

‘ﬁorfinnr and the others stayed on the island for the night’

(b) Me› henni mun nú vera beggja ykkur hamingja

‘With her lies the good fortune of you both now’

‘But I have witnesses here who saw the earl’s and my agreement’

(d) Hverjum y›rum ﬂótti ﬂat rá›ligast?

‘Which of you thought it most advisable?’

(e) Hrani sag›i henni hverra erinda Haraldr fór á fund Sigrí›ar

dróttningar

‘Hrani told her for what purpose Haraldr had gone to see Queen Sigrí›r’

(f) ﬁá lét Loki fallask í kné Ska›a

‘Then Loki let himself drop onto Ska›i’s knees’

3.9.7 Points of verbal syntax

A few remarks on verbal syntax need to be added to the basics set out
at various points in section 3.6. These concern four areas: (1) the per-
fect and past perfect (3.6.2, 3.6.8, sentence 3); (2) the passive (3.6.4);
(3) the ‘dative absolute’; (4) present participles expressing potential-
ity or obligation.

3.9.7.1 The perfect and past perfect

The perfect and past perfect of intransitive verbs of movement and
change are construed with

vera as well as hafa. E.g.:

Hann haf›i komit út me› ﬁorkatli
‘He had come out with ﬁorkell’
‘He had come to Iceland with ﬁorkell’

Ma›r er hér kominn úti fyrir durum
‘Man is here come outside before doorway’
‘A man has arrived here outside the door’

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249

Svá mun Hallger›i s‡nask, sem hann hafi eigi sjálfdau›r or›it
‘So will to-Hallger›r seem, as he has not self-dead become’

‘It will seem to Hallger›r as though he has not died a natural
death’

ﬁá er myrkt var or›it, leitu›u ﬂeir sér til náttsta›ar

‘Then

COMP

dark was become, searched they for-self for night-

place’
‘When it had become dark, they looked for a place to spend
the night’

The choice of auxiliary depends on the sense. Where the focus is on
the action itself,

hafa is used, where the state following the action is

emphasised, we find

vera (contrast English he has gone there a lot

recently and he is gone (= he is no longer present)). Thus the first example
above focuses on the travelling to Iceland rather than the being there,
the third on the dying rather than the being dead. In the second and
fourth examples, in contrast, the emphasis is on the man’s being out-
side the door and the state of darkness in which the searching took place.

It will be observed that where

vera is the auxiliary, the past partici-

ple inflects as an adjective, agreeing with the subject in case, gender
and number (cf. 3.6.6). Thus

ma›r and kominn are both nom. m. sg.

(

ﬂá er myrkt var or›it has no subject, so the nom. n. sg. (or›it) is used

as the default form). With

hafa as the auxiliary, on the other hand, the

past participle tends to adopt the neuter nom./acc. sg. form, and is
then often known as the supine (3.6.8, sentence 3). The reason for this
difference lies in the auxiliaries themselves. Elements linked by

vera,

whatever its function, stand in the same case, the one element modify-
ing the other, whereas non-auxiliary

hafa is construed with a nomina-

tive subject and accusative object (cf., e.g.,

hann haf›i tvá knƒrru ‘he

had two merchant ships’). In perfect constructions with

hafa the past

participle does not normally modify anything; it combines with the
auxiliary to form a single verb phrase. Thus in

hann haf›i keypt tvá

knƒrru ‘he had bought two merchant ships’ haf›i keypt is the verb
phrase of which

tvá knƒrru is the object. In origin, however, the per-

fect seems to have been a subject — verb — object — object comple-
ment construction (‘I have them bought’), which was gradually re-
analysed as subject — verb phrase — object (‘I have bought them’).

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Morphology and syntax

One of the chief reasons for assuming this development is that in early
Old Norse texts the past participle quite often agrees with an accusa-
tive object (never a genitive or dative, since

hafa governed the accu-

sative only). It seems, however, that at this relatively late stage in the
history of the Old Norse perfect, participle-object agreement had ceased
to carry the original ‘I have them bought’ meaning. Agreement and
non-agreement give the appearance of being interchangeable — indeed,
sometimes we find an inflected and an uninflected participle depend-
ent on the same auxiliary, e.g. (with the participles in bold):

En jarlsmenn hƒf›u bar›a marga eyjarskeggja, en tekit Kúga
bónda ok settan í fjƒtra
‘But earl’s-men had beaten many islanders, but taken Kúgi
farmer and placed in shackles’
‘But the earl’s men had beaten many islanders and taken the
farmer, Kúgi, and put him in shackles’

There is agreement here between

bar›a and marga eyjarskeggja (acc.

m. pl.), and

settan and Kúga bónda (acc. m. sg.), but not between

Kúga bónda (acc. m. sg.) and tekit (nom./acc. n. sg.). The function of
the participle is however the same in all three cases: each combines
with

hƒf›u to form a verb phrase of which marga eyjarskeggja or

Kúga bónda are the objects. The student may thus consider inflected
participles in perfect constructions as ordinary supines and treat them
in exactly the same way they would their uninflected counterparts (as
in modern French).

Several other verbs combine with past participles to form periphras-

tic constructions, but of these only

fá and geta are at all common.

Both have the basic sense ‘get’, and their use with past participles is
paralleled in English (cf.

he got it done). As in the hafa constructions,

the participle may either agree with an accusative object or not; where
the object is genitive or dative, or there is no object, the nom./acc. n.
sg. form is always used. E.g. (with the periphrastic verb phrases in
bold):

Abraham gat frelsta frændr sína
‘Abraham got saved kinsmen his’
‘Abraham was able to save his kinsmen’

Points of syntax

251

Ambáttirnar fengu dregit steininn
‘Bondwomen-the got dragged stone-the’
‘The bondwomen managed to drag the stone’

Sá fekk ﬂó borgit sér nau›uliga
‘He got though saved self narrowly’
‘He just about managed to save himself, though’

In the first example

frelsta agrees with frændr sína (acc. m. pl.), in the

second and third examples the nom./acc. n. sg. form of the participle
is used, once where the object is acc. m. sg. (

steininn), once where it is

dat. reflexive.

3.9.7.2 The passive

The Old Norse periphrastic passive formed with

vera may be dynamic

or static, just as its English counterpart with

be. Dynamic passives

denote an action or event, static passives the state after an action or
event. Two typical examples illustrating the difference are:

Var sá hƒggvinn fyrr, er sí›ar gekk
‘Was he cut-down earlier

COMP

later walked’

‘He (of two) who walked behind was slain first’

Hann nefndi mennina ﬂá, er vegnir váru
‘He named men-the those

COMP

slain were’

‘He named the men who were slain’

The passive

var sá hƒggvinn, er . . . is the equivalent of the past tense

active:

ﬂeir hjoggu ﬂann, er . . . ‘they slew the one who . . . ’, whereas

er vegnir váru corresponds to the past perfect active er ﬂeir hƒf›u
vegit ‘whom they had slain’, and could itself be expressed as a past
perfect:

er vegnir hƒf›u verit ‘who had been slain’. Of itself, vera +

pp. is ambiguous; it is the context that determines whether the con-
struction is to be understood as dynamic or static, just as in English
(cf., e.g., ambiguous

the house was sold, which may be expanded into

the dynamic

the house was sold by the new agent or the static the

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Morphology and syntax

house was already sold). A further contrastive pair of Old Norse
examples illustrating present tense usage is:

Fjórir hleifar brau›s eru honum fœr›ir hvern dag
‘Four loaves of-bread are to-him brought each day’
‘Four loaves of bread are brought to him each day’

Frá ﬂessu segir í flokki ﬂeim, er ortr er um ﬁormó›

‘From this says in poem that

COMP

composed is about

ﬁormó›r’

‘It tells of this in the poem that is composed about ﬁormó›r’

The passive

eru honum fœr›ir is dynamic, the equivalent of active

ﬂeir fœra honum ‘they bring to him’, while ortr er is static, corre-
sponding to active

einnhverr hefir ort ‘someone has composed’.

Sometimes passives are formed with auxiliary

ver›a rather than vera.

Such passives are always dynamic, and usually have one or more ad-
ditional senses — commonly the notion of futurity and/or possibility.
E.g.:

Hversu megu synir hans, ﬂeir er getnir ver›a í útleg›, njóta
ﬂeira gjafa?
‘How may sons his, those

COMP

born are in exile, enjoy those

gifts?’
‘How may his sons, those who will be born in exile, enjoy
those gifts?’

Var› engi uppreist í móti konungi gƒr í ﬂat sinn í ﬁrándheimi
‘Was no uprising a(-)gainst king made on that occasion in
ﬁrándheimr’
‘No rebellion was made against the king on that occasion in
ﬁrándheimr’

In the first example the talk is of sons who

may be born in the future.

The interpretation of the second example is less certain: it need be no
more than a dynamic passive, but it could carry the additional sense
that an uprising against the king was not possible on that occasion

Points of syntax

253

(because of his superior force). More firmly endowed with the notion
of (im)possibility is:

Hallbjƒrn hleypr til bú›ar, en sveinarnir til skógar, er ﬂar var
nær, ok ver›a eigi fundnir
‘Hallbjƒrn runs to booth, but boys-the to scrub,

COMP

there

was near, and are not found’
‘Hallbjƒrn runs to the booth, but the boys run into the scrub
which was nearby and cannot be found’

Occasionally in

ver›a-passives the agent may be expressed by the

dative, e.g.:

Honum var› litit upp til hlí›arinnar
‘By-him was looked up to hillside-the’
‘He looked up at the hillside’

Such constructions usually carry the implication that the action was a
chance one, a sense of

ver›a being ‘[to] happen’ (cf. slíkt ver›r opt

ungum mƒnnum ‘such things often happen to young men’). A more
precise idiomatic rendering of the above would therefore be: ‘He
chanced to look up at the hillside’.

3.9.7.3 The ‘dative absolute’

The Old Norse ‘dative absolute’ construction consists of a noun phrase
in the dative accompanied by a present or past participle in agreement,
the two conveying what would otherwise be expressed by a dependent
temporal sentence. Commonly the construction takes the form of a
prepositional phrase introduced by

at, but in more formal style the pre-

position may be dispensed with. E.g. (with the dative absolute in bold):

Ok at li›num ﬂrimr nóttum fór hann at finna vísendamann
‘And with passed three nights went he to find soothsayer’

‘And when three nights had passed he went to find the sooth-
sayer’

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Morphology and syntax

Vér skulum hér koma svá margir ﬂingmenn, sem nú eru til
nefndir, at uppverandi sólu
‘We shall here come as many assembly-members as now are
to appointed, with up-being sun’
‘We are to come here, as many assembly members as are
now appointed for the purpose, when the sun is up’

ﬁessum ﬂrettán útgengnum váru a›rir ﬂrettán inn leiddir
‘These thirteen out-gone were other thirteen in led’
‘When these thirteen had gone out, another thirteen were led in’

Hƒfum vér ﬂar um talat herra Erlingi ok ƒ›rum gó›um
mƒnnum hjáverƒndum
‘Have we there about spoken lord Erlingr and other good
men present-being’
‘We have spoken about it in the presence of Lord Erlingr and
other good men’

The idiomatic English renderings make clear the equivalence between
dative absolutes and dependent temporal sentences. An alternative to
‘in the presence of Lord Erlingr and other good men’ is ‘when Lord
Erlingr and other good men were present’. The construction with the
past participle corresponds to a finite perfect or past perfect, that with
the present to a finite present or past, depending on the context.

3.9.7.4 Present participles expressing potentiality or obligation

Present participles can appear in Old Norse as subject complements
with the sense of what is suitable, possible or necessary, and with a
passive interpretation. In this function,

geranda, for example, means

‘do-able’ — ‘fit to be done’, ‘able to be done’ or ‘necessary to be
done’, according to the context. A few examples will suffice to make
the usage clear:

Points of syntax

255

Hann fór su›r me› landinu at leita, ef ﬂar væri byggjanda

‘He went south along land-the to search if there might-be
settleable’
‘He went south along the coast to see if it might be suitable
for settlement there’

Jarl kva› ﬂetta vera óﬂolanda
‘Earl said this be intolerable’
‘The earl said this was intolerable’

At kveldi er dagr lofandi
‘At evening is day to-be-praised’

‘The day should be praised when evening comes (and not
before)’

The clarity of the context will determine the degree of precision with
which the participle can be translated into English.

Outside this construction, the Old Norse present participle tends to

correspond to the English -

ing form of the verb and will give the learner

little trouble: e.g.

hlæjandi ‘laughing’, skínandi ‘shining’, sofandi

‘sleeping’.

3.9.7 Points of verbal syntax — Exercise

1. When is

hafa and when vera used to form perfect and past perfect

constructions?

2. To what in Old Norse does the term ‘supine’ refer?
3. What is the difference between an inflected past participle and an

inflected supine in Old Norse?

4. Give an example of a dynamic and a static passive in Old Norse

and explain the difference.

5. What characterises

ver›a-passives?

6. What is the Old Norse ‘dative absolute’? Give examples of the

construction.

7. Explain the meaning of the present participle in:

ﬂat ﬂótti ﬂó

ógeranda, at konungr vissi eigi ﬂetta.

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Morphology and syntax

3.9.8 Points of syntax affecting more than one type of phrase

Three matters require brief treatment: (1) adjectival and adverbial
complements; (2) agreement between subject, verb and subject com-
plement; (3) -

sk verb forms and ‘preposition adverbs’.

3.9.8.1 Adjectival and adverbial complements

Complements of

vera ‘[to] be’ and ver›a ‘[to] become’ are some-

times adverbs in Old Norse. In the case of the pair

vel ‘well’ and illa

‘badly’, English tends to use adjectives in corresponding phrases. E.g.:

ﬁat er vel
‘It is good’ ‘It is right’

Konungr segir, at ﬂat var illa at Arnljótr haf›i eigi farit á
hans fund
‘King says that it was badly that Arnljótr had not gone on his
meeting’
‘The king says that it was bad that Arnljótr had not gone to
see him’

ﬁú skalt heita ﬂræll, ok svá vera
‘You shall be-called slave and so be’
‘You shall be called a slave and be so’

Var› Eyjólfr ﬂá framarlega
‘Became Eyjólfr then forward’
‘Eyjólfr then came to be near the front’

In contradistinction to usage in the first two of the above sentences,
adjectives may stand in apposition to subjects, objects or prepositional
complements in Old Norse where English would employ an adverb or
adverbial (cf. 3.5.4). This applies to comparatives and superlatives
where a sequence or order is denoted, to quantifiers such as

einn ‘one’,

allr ‘all’, hálfr ‘half’, and to the locational terms mi›r ‘middle’, ﬂverr
‘transverse’. E.g.:

Points of syntax

257

Skulu› ﬂit brœ›r fyrstir fara
‘Shall you-two brothers [as the] first go’
‘You two brothers shall go first’

ﬁrym drap hann fyrstan
‘ﬁrymr killed he [as the] first’
‘He killed ﬁrymr first’

Hann var einn konungr yfir landi
‘He was one king over country’
‘He alone was king over the country’

Hví ertu í bló›i einu allr?
‘Why are-you in blood one all?’
‘Why are you completely covered in blood?’

Kom sú á hann mi›jan
‘Came she onto him middle’
‘It hit him in the middle (of his body)’

(Cf. also 3.1.5, sentence 20.)

3.9.8.2 Agreement between subject, verb and subject complement

Although the verb in Old Norse normally agrees in number with the
(nominative) subject of the sentence (3.1.1, 3.2, 3.6.1), there are ex-
ceptions to the rule. Where the verb precedes one or more of a sequence
of conjoined subjects, it will often appear in the same number as the
subject which is closest. E.g. (with the relevant agreement in bold):

Var ﬂá Ulfr ok allir stafnbúarnir komnir at lyptingunni

‘Was then Ulfr and all forecastle-men-the come to poop-
deck-the’
‘Then Ulfr and all the forecastle men had got to the poop-
deck’

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Morphology and syntax

T‡ndisk fé allt ok meiri hlutr manna
‘Lost-

sk property all and greater part of-men’

‘All the property was lost and most of the men’

Konungr var allmjƒk drukkinn ok bæ›i ﬂau
‘King was all-much drunk and both they’
‘The king was very drunk and she as well’

Observe that in the first sentence the past participle

komnir agrees

with the plural subject

allir stafnbúarnir (or, equally possible, both

subjects together) rather than the singular subject

Ulfr and the singular

verb. (On the use of

ﬂau in the last sentence, see 3.9.6.1.)

Even where it precedes a lone plural subject, a verb may appear in

the singular if several words intervene. E.g. (with the singular verb in
bold):

Eptir ﬂat dreif at ﬂeim fóstbrœ›rum vinir ﬂeira ór Fir›afylki

‘After that drifted to those foster-brothers friends their from
Fir›afylki’
‘After that their friends from Fir›afylki thronged to (join)
the foster-brothers’

In sentences of the type

X is Y, the verb often agrees in number with Y,

the subject complement, especially when the subject is

ﬂat ‘that’ ‘it’

ﬂetta ‘this’. E.g. (with the relevant agreement in bold):

Váru ﬂat lítil sár ok mƒrg
‘Were that small wounds and many’
‘The wounds were small and many’

Ekki munu ﬂetta fri›armenn vera
‘Not will this peace-men be’
‘These will not be men of peace’

Slíkt eru konungsmenn, sem ﬂú ert
‘Such are king’s men as you are’
‘You are the sort of person to be a king’s man’

Points of syntax

259

Notice further the propensity of past participles in such constructions
to agree with the subject complement rather than the subject:

Var ﬂat mikill fjƒl›i or›inn
‘Was it great multitude become’
‘It had become a great number’

Sometimes, however, agreement is with the subject:

ﬁat var ﬁorkell nefja, Karlshƒfu›, ok ﬁorsteinn ok Einarr
ﬂambarskelfir
‘That was ﬁorkell nefja, Karlshƒfu›, and ﬁorsteinn and Einarr
ﬂambarskelfir’

ﬁat var sí›an kallat Kvernbítr
‘It was thereafter called Kvernbítr [m.]’

3.9.8.3 -sk verb forms and ‘preposition adverbs’

As pointed out in 3.6.5.3, the -

sk form may have reflexive and recip-

rocal function. Often this is combined with use of a preposition, which,
in an abstract sense, governs the reflexive or reciprocal to which the
-sk form gives expression. Since, however, there is no overt prepositional
complement in such constructions, the preposition has the appearance
of an adverb (cf. 3.7.7). E.g. (with the -

sk form and preposition given

in bold):

Kormakr litask um
‘Kormakr looks-

sk around’

‘Kormakr looks around him’

ﬁeir lƒg›usk allir ni›r fyrir kirkjunni ok bá›usk fyrir
‘They laid-

sk all down before church-the and prayed-sk for’

‘They all laid themselves down before the church and prayed
for themselves’

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Morphology and syntax

Ek hefi nú vel um búizk
‘I have now well around prepared-

sk’

‘I have now protected myself all around’

Áttusk ﬂeir vi› drykkju ok or›askipti
‘Had-

sk they with drinking and conversation’

‘They had drinks and conversation with each other’

Horf›usk ﬂeir Gizurr at hƒf›unum
‘Faced-

sk they Gizurr towards with-heads-the’

‘Gizurr and he faced towards each other with their heads’

Where the preposition is immediately followed by a noun phrase (or
noun phrases) as in the last two sentences, the student should be
particularly careful not to jump to the conclusion that the two belong
together. Neither

*vi› drykkju ok or›askipti nor *at hƒf›unum is a

preposition phrase,

drykkju ok or›askipti being the accusative direct

object of

áttu, hƒf›unum a manner adverbial in the dative case.

3.9.8 Points of syntax affecting more than one type of phrase —
Exercise

1. Old Norse sometimes employs adverbs as complements of

vera

‘[to] be’ and

ver›a ‘[to] become’. Give examples and compare

and contrast Old Norse usage with English in this respect.

2. In Old Norse an adjective standing in apposition to subject, object

or prepositional complement often corresponds to an adverb or
adverbial in English. Give examples and compare and contrast Old
Norse usage with English in this respect.

3. In what circumstances may an Old Norse verb not agree in number

with a nominative subject?

4. Give a grammatical analysis of the sentence

ﬂau rœddusk opt vi›

‘they often talked together’.

Points of syntax

261

3.9.9 Adverbial ok

Sometimes

ok appears at the beginning of an independent sentence

with a sense equivalent to

ﬂá ‘then’. In such cases a dependent temporal

or conditional sentence almost always precedes (indeed, the

ok or ﬂá

represents a recapitulation, in the form of an adverb, of the dependent
sentence, cf. 3.8, 3.9.1). E.g.:

Ok í annat sinn er ﬂeir raufa sey›inn, ﬂá er stund var li›in,

ok var ekki so›it

‘And for second time

COMP

they open cooking-pit-the, then

COMP

short-while was passed, and was not cooked’

‘And the second time they break open the cooking pit after a

short while had passed, then it was not cooked’

Ef ma›r andask í úteyjum, ok eru ﬂeir menn skyldir at fœra

lík til kirkju, er . . .

‘If man dies

-sk in out-islands, and are those men bound to

take body to church,

COMP

. . .’

If a man dies on some outlying island, then those men are

responsible for taking the body to a church, who . . .

The second example is from a law text, where this use of

ok for ﬂá is

very common.

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Morphology and syntax

A postscript on ‘impersonal’ constructions

The student may legitimately wonder why some verbs in Old Norse
are construed without a nominative, and thus, apparently (cf. 3.9.3),
without a subject. It was explained in 3.9.3 that sometimes this is
because the focus is on the object and the subject is of no interest in
the context. In, e.g.,

Hér hefr kristni sƒgu
‘Here begins of-Christianity saga’
‘Here begins the history of the Church (in Iceland)’

the writer draws attention solely to the work and its commencement.
Who caused it to commence is of no relevance, and indeed the
individual(s) concerned would probably be hard to identify. There is
a similarity here with some passive constructions in English. In, e.g.,

The church was built in the fourteenth century

the point of interest is the time at which the building work took place,
not who carried it out, which, as in the ON example, may not be
(generally) known.

What is missing in both the ON and the English sentence is of course

the agent — which is nevertheless there in the background, understood
although unspecified. But it has been argued by some that an agent
has also been omitted from those types of ON ‘impersonal’ (i.e. non-
nominative) construction in which an animate instigator cannot be
conceived (e.g.

daga ‘dawn’, skorta ‘lack’, dreyma ‘dream’; cf. further

3.9.3, pp. 230, 233–4). The verbs concerned tend to denote natural
events, the passing of time, (chance) occurrences, want, feelings, im-
pressions, etc. What is suggested is that at the time such constructions
arose there was a belief in a mythological agency or agencies which
controlled the events by which people were affected. Thus in, e.g.,

Gaf ﬂeim vel byri
‘Gave to-them well winds’
‘They got favourable winds’

Points of syntax

263

Rak ﬂá ví›a um hafit
‘Drove them widely across sea-the’
‘They drifted far across the sea’

Ragnhildi dróttning dreym›i drauma stóra
‘Ragnhildr queen [acc.] dreamt dreams big [acc.]’
‘Queen Ragnhildr dreamt great dreams’

a recognised but (for whatever reason) unspecified power may have
been conceived as directing the wind, driving boats across the sea,
causing people to dream, and so on (cf. the further examples pp. 230,
233).

It is not claimed that speakers of Old Norse thought in these terms;

rather that they were using linguistic constructions inherited from an
earlier age (many Indo-European and non-Indo-European languages
exhibit similar types of phrase). The interconnection between
nominative case and agent role suggested by this line of reasoning
can also be viewed as having a historical basis. In 3.1.2 it was stressed
that no morphological case is uniquely associated with a particular
syntactic function in Old Norse, and that is equally true of semantic
roles. It is conceivable, however, that to begin with each case did
have a unique semantic role and syntactic function, and that in this
pristine system nominative denoted the agent. Then, over the thousands
of years that followed, much restructuring took place, including
perhaps loss and amalgamation of several cases — leading to the Old
Norse system in which morphological case, syntactic function and
semantic role are far less obviously interconnected.

Regardless of the correctness or otherwise of these ideas, the student

may find them helpful in getting to grips with ‘impersonal’ con-
structions — a type alien to modern English. The closest equivalents
are constructions such as

it is raining, where it simply fills what would

otherwise be an empty subject slot, or

it seems to me, where the

experiencer does not become subject but is presented as the recipient
of external stimuli. We may also note the archaic construction
methinks, comparable to ON ﬂyk(k)ir mér.

264

A New Introduction to Old Norse

References to linguistic terms explained in the

Grammar

References (by page number) are to the place or places where the term is most clearly
explained and/or exemplified, usually the first occurrence. Items which form the
subject matter of a (sub-)section or (sub-)sections of the

Grammar are not normally

included; these can be located using the list of contents (pp. vii–xi). Terms that are
used only once or twice and are explained where they occur are also mostly omitted.

absolute superlative 93
accusative 22–7
accusative and infinitive 236–40
active 135–6
adverb of degree 128
adverb of intensification 129
adverb of manner 127
adverb of place 127
adverb of time 127
agent 31
agreement 38, 77–8, 131–2
analogical levelling 42
anaphoric pronoun 27
antecedent 208
attributive 77
auxiliary verb 133

back vowel 42

comparative 79
complementiser 204
consonant cluster 13
copula 242
correlate 208–11

dative 22–7
dative absolute 253–4
definite article 56
dependent sentence 200–02
determiner 78–9
diphthong 9–10
direct object 32–3
discontinuity 220, 229

dual 62

experiencer 70, 234

front(ing) [vowels] 41–2
fronting [sentence elements] 226–7

genitive 22–7
genitive of type 35

imperative 135
independent sentence 200
indicative 134–5
indirect object 32–3, 35
infinitive 140, 147–8
instrumental(ity) 24
intonation 4

labial 39
lexical item 147

marked 226–7
matrix sentence 200
modal auxiliary 152
monophthongisation 102
morphology 22
mutation 39, 41

nominative 22–7
noun phrase 31–2

object 32–3
object complement 89

Linguistic terms

265

objective genitive 34, 90
oblique 72

paradigm 28
partitive 74
passive 135–6, 251–3
past infinitive 147–8, 239–40
past participle 147
periphrastic 133
positive 79
possessive adjective 83
possessive genitive 34
postposition 181
preaspiration 18–19
predicate 131
predicative 77
preposition phrase 181
present participle 147
principal parts 148–9

raised subject 238–9
reciprocal 146

reflexive 62
reflexive possessive 83
relative (pronoun) 201
relative sentence 208
rounded, rounding 39

subject 31
subject complement 32, 224–7
subjective genitive 34, 91
subjunctive 134–5
subordinate clause 200–02
superlative 79
supine 156
syntax 22

that-clause 202

unmarked 31–2
unvoiced 12

voiced 12
vowel gradation 141–2

266

A New Introduction to Old Norse

Select glossary of linguistic terms not explained

in the

Grammar

apposition The relationship between two or more sentence elements with

the same syntactic function and identity or similarity of reference. E.g.
hann átti Ragnhildi, dóttur Hrólfs ‘he was married to Ragnhildr, the
daughter of Hrólfr’, where

Ragnhildi and dóttur Hrólfs are in apposition.

assimilation The influence of one sound on another, so that they become

more alike or identical. E.g.

lykill ‘key’ < *lykilr, with assimilation lr > ll.

beneficiary The entity to which something is given, said, etc. or for which

something is done, made, etc. E.g.

ﬂeir veittu honum li› ‘they gave him

support’, where

honum is the beneficiary.

complement A syntactic element that ‘completes’ another element. E.g. var

hann inn mesti hƒf›ingi ‘he was a very great ruler’, where hann is the
subject and

inn mesti hƒf›ingi the subject complement; í ﬂenna tíma ‘at

this time’, where

í is a preposition and noun phrase ﬂenna tíma the

prepositional complement.

complex Consisting of two or more separate elements. E.g. the preposi-

tion

fyrir nor›an ‘north of’.

compound Consisting of two or more elements which are combined. E.g.

fjárskipti ‘division of property’ a compound noun made up of gen. fjár,
from

fé ‘property’ ‘money’, and skipti ‘division’.

covert Not expressed, understood. In, e.g., ﬂeim var engi kostr í brott at

fara ‘there was no possibility for them to go away’, the subject of fara
is not expressed, but is understood as identical with the

ﬂeim of ﬂeim

var engi kostr.

declarative A sentence type used for statements, contrasting with inter-

rogative, imperative, etc. E.g.

Páll jarl fór til Orkneyja ‘Earl Páll went

to the Orkneys’ is a declarative sentence, whereas

hvárt fór Páll jarl til

Orkneyja? ‘did Earl Páll go to the Orkneys?’ is interrogative and far›u
til Orkneyja! ‘go to the Orkneys!’ imperative.

goal The entity affected by the action expressed by a verb. In, e.g., ﬂeir

brenndu hann inni ‘they burnt him in his house’, hann ‘him’ is the goal
of the action, the person burnt.

govern(ment) A syntactic linkage whereby one word requires a particu-

lar morphological form of another word. E.g. the ON verb

hefna ‘avenge’

governs the genitive of the person or thing avenged (

hann hefndi bró›ur

síns ‘he avenged his brother’); the preposition frá governs the dative
(

frá skipinu ‘from the ship’).

Linguistic terms

267

head word The central word in a phrase. E.g. in ma›r gamall ‘an old

man’, the noun

ma›r is the head word, on which the adjective gamall is

dependent; we find

ma›r gekk út ‘a man went out’, but not *gamall

gekk út ‘old went out’.

infinitive clause A clause (sentence) with one or more infinitives but no

finite verb — one of several types of non-finite clause. E.g. in

dvel ﬂú

eigi at snúask til dróttins ‘do not wait to turn to the Lord’, at snúask til
dróttins is an infinitive clause whose covert (understood) subject is the
ﬂú of the finite dvel ﬂú eigi (see covert).

infix An affix (a word element that can only be used when joined to another

form) added within a word (see p. 65).

inflexion A change to any part of a word (root, affix, ending) signalling

grammatical relations (case, gender, number, tense, mood, etc.), e.g.
hestr ‘horse’ (nom. sg.), hests (gen. sg.); hƒr› ‘hard’ (nom. f. sg., nom./
acc. n. pl.),

har›ir (nom. m. pl.); bít ‘bite’ (1st sg. pres. indic.), beit (1st/

3rd sg. past indic.).

intransitive A verb which cannot take a direct object, e.g. liggja ‘lie’ ‘be

situated’.

modifier (modify) A word that is dependent on another word or phrase

and qualifies its meaning. In, e.g.,

sá inn gamli ma›r ‘the old man’, the

words

sá inn gamli are all dependent on the head word ma›r: they qualify

the meaning of

ma›r, introducing the attribute of age and making the

phrase definite. In

draumr Hálfdanar, the genitive Hálfdanar is de-

pendent on

draumr and qualifies its meaning, indicating whose the dream

was (see head word).

overt Expressed, observable in the structure (see covert).
past perfect A verb construction found in Germanic (and some other)

languages consisting of the past tense of

have (hafa etc.) and a supine,

usually expressing a time prior to some past point of time. In, e.g.,

ﬂeir hƒf›u upp borit fƒngin, fóru ﬂeir á land ‘after they had carried up
the baggage, they went ashore’, the carrying precedes the going ashore,
which is itself in the past.

perfect As past perfect, but consisting of the present tense of have (hafa

etc.) and a supine, and commonly expressing time viewed in relation to
the present. In, e.g.,

vér hƒfum fengit mikinn ska›a á mƒnnum várum

‘we have suffered great losses to our men’, the losses are presented as
relevant to the situation in which the words are spoken.

phrase A sentence element consisting of one or more words, but usually

reducible to a single word. E.g.

skrín ins helga Magnúss jarls ‘the shrine

of St Magnús the earl’ is a noun phrase, reducible to

ﬂat ‘it’; í ﬂann

268

A New Introduction to Old Norse

tíma ‘at that time’ is a preposition phrase functioning as an adverbial,
reducible to

ﬂá ‘then’.

root The basic form of a word, to which nothing has been added. E.g.

tak-, root of the verb taka ‘take’, hei›-, root of the feminine noun hei›r
‘moor’, ‘heath’,

lang-, root of the adjective langr ‘long’.

semantics The study of meaning in language; sometimes simply used as

a synonym for meaning.

sentence The largest unit of grammar or syntax, i.e. the largest unit over

which a grammatical or syntactic rule can operate. A sentence will
always include one finite verb, and one only. Thus (finite verbs given
in bold) Go

! or John kicked the ball into the net are each sentences,

whereas

Gosh! or Looking to the future are not. The utterance She

smiled

because she was given a toy, but she often scowls contains

three sentences: the independent (3.8)

she smiled and [but] she often

scowls and the dependent [because] she was given a toy. In traditional
grammatical parlance what is here termed ‘sentence’ is known as a
‘clause’, ‘sentence’ being employed for broader and less clearly
defined concepts such as ‘a statement that can stand on its own’.

sentence element Used in the Grammar synonymously with phrase.
simplex Consisting of a single element — non-complex or non-compound.

E.g.

á ‘on [etc.]’ is a simplex preposition as opposed to the complex

fyrir nor›an ‘north of’; konungr ‘king’ is a simplex noun as opposed to
the compound

konungsma›r ‘king’s man’.

stress Prominence given to a particular syllable because of the degree of

articulatory force used in producing it. In, e.g.,

Skotlandi ‘Scotland’

(dat. n. sg.) there is primary stress on the first syllable, secondary stress
on

-land-, and little or no stress on the dative -i ending.

substantive An alternative term for ‘noun’ — the part of speech denoting

persons, places, concrete objects, concepts (e.g.

Hrólfr, Ísland ‘Iceland’,

hús ‘house’, gle›i ‘joy’). Formally substantives/nouns display certain
types of inflexion, in Old Norse number:

konungr ‘king’, konungar

‘kings’, case:

konungr (nom.), konungi (dat.), and to a certain extent gender:

dropi (m. with -i ending) ‘drop’, gata (f. with -a ending) ‘path’.
Substantives/nouns also perform specific syntactic functions, appearing,
e.g., as subject or object of a sentence or the complement of a pre-
position in a preposition phrase (examples under 3.1.5).

substantivised Used as a substantive/noun. The term is applied to

adjectives that stand in place of a substantive/noun, e.g.

gott ‘good [nom./

acc. n. sg.]’,

fáir ‘few [nom. m. pl.]’, hit ellra ‘the older [nom./acc. n.

sg.]’ (see 3.3, 3.3.6, sentences 19–22, 26).

Linguistic terms

269

suffix An affix (see infix) coming after the form to which it is joined.

Examples of ON suffixes are the weak past tense markers -

›, -d, -t (cf.

kasta-›-i ‘threw’, with root kasta-, past tense suffix -› and 3rd sg. ending
-

i), and the definite article -inn (cf. hest-r-inn ‘the horse’, with root

hest-, nom. sg. ending -r and suffixed nom. m. sg. def. art. -inn).

transitive Verb which can take a direct object, e.g. drepa ‘kill’, hefna

‘avenge’.

Bibliography

Cleasby, Richard and Gudbrand Vigfusson 1957.

An Icelandic–English

Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Faarlund, Jan Terje 2004.

The Syntax of Old Norse. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Gordon, E. V. 1957.

An Introduction to Old Norse (2nd ed.). Oxford:

Clarendon Press.

Haugen, Einar 1972.

First Grammatical Treatise (2nd ed.). London:

Longman.

Haugen, Odd Einar 2001 (and later printings).

Grunnbok i norrønt

språk (4th ed.). Oslo: Ad Notam Gyldendal.

Heusler, Andreas 1932 (and later printings).

Altisländisches Elementar-

buch (3rd ed.). Heidelberg: Carl Winter.

Hreinn Benediktsson 1972.

The First Grammatical Treatise. Reykjavík:

University of Iceland.

Höskuldur Thráinsson 1994. ‘Icelandic’. In: (E. König and J. van der

Auwera eds)

The Germanic Languages. London: Routledge, 142–89.

Iversen, Ragnvald 1973 (and later printings).

Norrøn grammatikk (7th

ed.). Oslo: Aschehoug.

Noreen, Adolf 1923.

Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik

(4th ed.). Halle: Niemeyer.

Nygaard, M. 1905.

Norrøn syntax. Kristiania: Aschehoug.

Spurkland, Terje 1989.

Innføring i norrønt språk. Oslo: Universitets-

forlaget.

Stefán Einarsson 1945 (and later printings).

Icelandic. Baltimore: John

Hopkins.

Thomson, Colin D. 1987.

Icelandic Inflections. Hamburg: Helmut

Buske.

Zoëga, Geir T. 1910.

A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic. Oxford:

Clarendon Press.

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